


The Sound Of Silence

by mandeebobandee



Series: Hogwarts Havoc [5]
Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Harry Potter Setting, F/F, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-10
Updated: 2019-02-19
Packaged: 2019-10-07 20:52:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 41
Words: 45,835
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17373107
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mandeebobandee/pseuds/mandeebobandee
Summary: The group faces a new, looming threat while trying to pick up the pieces after their recent experiences. Will they make it through unscathed or will they wind up more broken than ever in the events that ensue?





	1. Chapter 1

_"Wake up, my boy"_  Virgil heard Linus say. He blearily blinked his eyes, trying to focus on his father's face.  
  
_"It is time,"_  Linus smiled.  
  
_For what?_  Virgil asked - or rather, that was what he intended to ask, as what came out of his mouth was quite different. "Of course father. I will get ready."  
  
Virgil watched as he pushed himself out of bed and began to get dressed -  _watched_ , because it was as if he were a passenger within his own body. Someone else was in the driver's seat.  
  
The scene shifted. One minute he was at Thompson Manor, the next he stood in a large room with a large cauldron at the center. He recognized it as the room Astrit was being kept in. Virgil's stomach gave a lurch.   
  
"Is the potion ready?" Virgil gasped out. Though he actually felt utterly  _horrified_ , the voice that actually left his mouth had an unmistakable excited lilt to it.  
  
Astrit was led out of his cell with the same witch he'd met at an earlier time on one side and an unfamiliar wizard on the other. His eyes were downcast toward the ground.  
  
Virgil wanted to fight, he wanted to comfort Astrit, he wanted to...  
  
_"You're too late,"_  Astrit said, and his gaze shot upward - directly into Virgil's eyes. His voice was distorted, a mixture of his own voice and a deeper, older voice.  
  
He had a wild grin on his face.  _"You always did make a lovely puppet."_

Virgil's eyes flew open and he pushed himself to a seated position, gazing about with a frantic expression.  
  
...only to be greeted by the all too familiar sight of the room he shared with Logan at the Leaky Cauldron.

Logan was seated in a chair a few feet away from the bed, a book in his lap.  _"You alright, Virgil?"_  he frowned.  
  
Virgil ran a hand through his hair, smoothing it down. "I...yeah, just another nightmare."  
  
He'd had a lot of those as of late - something he was not alone in by any means. Logan, Roman, Patton, Era, and Chelsea had their share of nightmares as well. Virgil inhaled slowly before exhaling equally as slowly. He did this a few times in an attempt to bring his heart rate down.  
  
Nightmares were nothing new for Virgil, especially as of late, but Astrit's heavy role in the nightmare  _was_  - and that made Virgil worry. Was it a sign? Had something happened to Astrit?  
  
Logan leaned forward in his seat.  _"Continue. I can tell that there is more on your mind."_  
  
Virgil hadn't intended to continue, but how could he say no when Logan was asking him so bluntly? "Astrit was in this one. I think he was possessed by Dalibor. He said it was too late. Do you think it was a sign?"  
  
A look of contemplation crossed Logan's features.  _"It may have been, though not in the way that you suspect."_  
  
"What's that supposed to mean?" asked Virgil, quirking his eyebrow up slightly.

 _"I do not suspect that your dream was an accurate indication as to Astrit's current condition. I recognize that you may believe that you are a special case because you are a Seer, but we've seen for ourselves that the Sight does not work in that fashion. Neither you nor Era have ever received clear visions in your dreams, and there is no reason to believe that you would stop now. Your dream was likely a reflection of what concerns you in your waking life - in this case, our quest to get Astrit back to safety,"_  Logan assured him.  
  
"So I dreamed that we were too late because I'm  _worried_  that we might be too late, not because we actually  _are_  too late."  
  
_"We have no accurate of knowing at this point whether or not we are too late, and thus we must operate on the assumption that we are not."_  
  
"...I'm not sure if  _that_  made me feel better or worse, but what you said before that made me feel somewhat better, so I'll take it," Virgil let out a shaky sigh, wrapping his arms around his legs and resting his chin on top of his knees.  
  
_"If it makes you feel any better, Roman is supposed to be released today?"_  Logan reminded him.  _"So we should be able to put our plans into motion soon."_  
  
Virgil's eyes widened. "That's right! What time is it? I should be getting ready!" He pushed himself out of bed and glanced at the clock. While he was not running as late as he feared, he still needed to get moving. He threw on some clothes, ran a comb through his hair, and put on his eyeliner before heading back to where Logan was waiting.  
  
They were dressed in Muggle clothing, Virgil needing just a  _tad_ bit of assistance from Logan in this endeavor. Virgil rather enjoyed Muggle fashions now that he knew some about them, but Logan as a half-blood with a Muggle mother had a better idea of what might draw too much unwanted attention from passing Muggles on the street - and Virgil certainly didn't want any more of that than was necessary.  
  
The two approached what appeared to those on the outside as an abandoned department store. Virgil and Logan, however, knew that inside the supposed department store was actually St. Mungo's. Virgil and Logan stepped through the broken window at the front of the supposed 'store' to enter the hospital. Patton, Era, and Chelsea were already waiting.  
  
_"Logan Dicax is running late? Call the press!"_  Chelsea gasped exaggeratedly.  
  
_"You_  are  _the press, aren't you? Why don't you write about it yourself?"_  Era reminded her in a teasing tone.  
  
_"Oooh, good point...that'll be one of the next articles in the Hogwarts Herald. You'll be a star, Logan,"_  Chelsea told him.  
  
_"I would prefer you not - besides, we are not late. We agreed to meet in this lobby at 10am, and it is 9:47am. Ergo, we are actually early. Just because the three of you were earlier than we were does not mean that we were late,"_  Logan replied in a somewhat defensive tone.  
  
_"Now that we're all here, what are we waiting for? Let's go see Roman!"_  Patton announced in a cheery voice, rising to his feet and motioning for the others to do the same. Virgil and Logan were already on their feet, having just walked into St. Mungo's, but Chelsea and Era still needed to stand. Once they did so, Patton motioned for them to follow him once more.  
  
_"He's been looking forward to this for so long...he was so upset when they told him they'd have to keep him a couple of extra days. But they said he's good to go today!"_  Patton was practically skipping as he led the way to Roman's room - the room that he initially shared with Era, but now that Era's leg was entirely healed she was staying with Chelsea in a room near Virgil and Logan's at the Leaky Cauldron.  
  
As expected, Roman was already dressed and seated at the edge of his bed, talking to one of the Healers about a last minute potion that she wanted him to use to tend to one of his wounds when he left the hospital.  
  
Roman's eyes looked slightly glossed over, however, and Virgil caught Logan jotting down the Healer's instructions as quickly as he could on a sheet of paper. He had to bite down on his lip to keep from chuckling. At least someone had the foresight to do so, as Roman's only focus at the moment seemed to be his freedom.  
  
_"Feel better soon, Roman,"_  the Healer told him with a smile as she walked past the others and headed off down the hall. A loud crack echoed through the floor, though when Virgil saw no sign of what made the noise, he frowned and glanced back at Roman.  
  
Roman who was pushing himself off of his bed, carrying a small bag that contained his belongings.  _"Ah, it's good to be free once more. I think we should go to Florean Fortescue's to celebrate!"_  
  
_"Is Florean Fortescue's even open?" It's winter,"_  Era pointed out.  
  
_"So? Ice cream is good all year round!"_  Patton protested.  
  
There was a faint buzz coming from down the hall. People talking, their voices growing louder and louder.   
  
_"You got everything, Roman?"_  Patton asked him.  _"Do you need help carrying anything?"_  
  
Roman chuckled.  _"I can manage myself, darling. But thank you for asking."_  
  
The Healer from before was rushing down the hall, shouting to someone at the other end to prepare a bed.  _"He's experienced a lot of blood loss, so we need to work fast! Get me a few bottles of blood replenishing potion - I'm not sure how much we'll need, but it's better to have too much than not enough!"_  
  
By this point, Virgil wasn't the only one who noted the commotion - now Era, Chelsea, Logan, and even Roman and Patton were paying attention to what was going on outside of Roman's room.  
  
_"We should probably wait until the commotion has died down before we head out - we do not want to get in the way,"_  Logan reasoned.  
  
As a result, they had front row tickets to what was happening.   
  
Two healers walked by, talking quickly.  
  
_"He just Apparated onto the ward. Not just St. Mungo's...this specific ward. He had heavy blood loss...it's as if he Apparated as a last ditch effort before he lost consciousness,"_  one Healer explained to the other.  
  
_"Well he certainly picked the right place,"_  the other healer replied.  _"Do we have an id? Any friends or family? You said the patient was unconscious, correct?"_  
  
_"Yes, and no one's with him, he doesn't even look old enough to Apparate..."_  
  
The two Healers' voices trailed off from there, but Virgil continued to glance in the direction of all of the commotion, trying to see if he could make out anything else.  
  
_"It's a child? Oh no,"_  Patton's hand flew to his mouth.  _"Poor kiddo!"_  
  
"They didn't say it was a child, just someone who wasn't old enough to Apparate. That could be someone only a few years younger than us," Virgil pointed out.  
  
_"Merlin, they're coming,"_  Roman gasped, watching as a few Healers and Mediwizards raced by, carrying a young man on a stretcher.  
  
A familiar young man.  
  
Virgil stared. Logan gaped. Chelsea and Roman gasped. Patton let out an odd sort of squeak.  
  
Era screamed.


	2. Chapter 2

Virgil did not expect to see a familiar face taken by them on a stretcher. Astrit was pale,  _far_  too pale to be healthy. He looked worse than he had two years before, after their encounter with Dalibor Petrović in the Forbidden Forest. He lost so much blood  _then_...how much had he lost now?  
  
And  _how_?  
  
Virgil could not help but glance back at Era as she screamed, but it turned out he had no need to so - as he glanced back, Era pushed past him with great force - past them  _all_.  
  
One could hardly blame her. They'd just heard the Healers discussing how they had no id for their patient and no family, when his older sister was  _right there_.  
  
 _"Do you think we should follow her?"_  Patton said in a quiet voice.  
  
 _"I think we should stay back. If there are too many of us, we may get in the way of the Healers, and that may prove detrimental to their efforts to stabilize Astrit,"_  Logan answered.  
  
 _"I...I know I might be in the way, but...I kinda wanna go after her,"_ Chelsea said in an uncharacteristically hesitant voice. It was clear that she wanted to be there to support Era, but she didn't want to put Astrit in danger by doing so.  
  
 _"Then go,"_  Logan told her.  
  
Chelsea sent him a puzzled look.  _"But you just said..."_  
  
 _"I said that too many of us would get in the way. I do not feel that one extra person would have that same effect,"_  Logan assured her.  
  
 _"Go,"_  Patton urged gently.

Virgil stepped aside as Chelsea ran down the hall to find Era.  
  
 _"He looked rough,"_  Roman said with a low whistle.  
  
 _"Do you think he's going to make it?"_  Patton cast a glance down the hall, clearly wishing that he could do something to help.  
  
"The Healers will do their best," Virgil replied. "He couldn't have Apparated to a better place."  
  
 _"I did not even know that Astrit could Apparate. He's too young to take the classes, isn't he?"_  Roman wondered.  
  
 _"You don't always need to go to class to master a subject - and one could argue that Astrit has not mastered Apparition, as I believe this is the only time he has Apparated I suspect Era filled him in on the necessary elements,"_  Logan responded.  
  
"I wonder if some of his injuries came from Apparating in the first place?" Virgil mumbled.  
  
 _"Whoa, that's a bit morbid, isn't it?"_  Roman arched a brow.  
  
"Its true though. They said there was a lot of blood loss, he might have splinched himself," Virgil explained, gazing downward. He didn't necessarily want to bring the group down, but he did feel the need to point out the possibility.  
  
 _"It very well may be the case, Virgil, though I do suspect that he was injured before he Apparated here,"_  Logan said.  
  
 _"What makes you so sure of that?"_  Roman asked.

"I think I know," Virgil spoke up. "Why would he have Apparated to St. Mungo's if he  _wasn't_  already injured?"  
  
 _"He might not have had any place in particular in mind when he Apparated?"_  Patton suggested.  
  
 _"Impossible - One of the three Ds is deliberation. He had to have desired to go to St. Mungo's on some level if he Apparated here, and the only way that would make sense was if he was already injured,"_  Logan provided by way of explanation.  
  
 _"...can't argue with that one,"_  Roman admitted.  
  
 _"Of course you can't. When have I ever presented an argument that is not well reasoned?"_  Logan scoffed.  
  
 _"There was that one time that you argued that infinitessimal meant big instead of small in fourth year..."_  Patton started, but Logan cut him off.  
  
 _"We do not speak of that incident!"_  
  
Virgil chewed on his lips to keep himself from laughing out loud. It sounded like an amusing story. He'd have to ask Patton about it later.  
  
For now, though, there were other matters to address - something Roman noted as well.  _"Who or what injured him, if he was already injured?"_  
  
Virgil rubbed his arm, his eyes downcast. Patton noticed at once.  
  
 _"Virgil? What's wrong?"_  he took a few steps toward Virgil.  
  
"I...had a dream last night. A nightmare, really," Virgil began hesitantly. "It had Astrit in it, and he...his arm was cut like it was in that cavern beneath the Forbidden Forest a couple years ago. He had a lot of blood loss then, so..."   
  
 _"You had a vision and you did not tell us?"_  Roman asked.  
  
"Logan knew about it," Virgil explained.   
  
 _"Still, if you're going to prophesize something a little warning might help before it comes true!"_  Roman argued.

 _"I'm going to stop you right there, Roman. What Virgil experienced was not a prophecy, nor was it any sort of vision. It was a nightmare,"_  Logan informed him.  
  
 _"Yes, and Virgil is a Seer! A Seer who just had a nightmare that came true!"_  Roman pointed out.  
  
Virgil found himself wanting to sink into the floor. Logan comforted him once before with success, but hearing Roman voice all of the doubts he'd voiced earlier himself - it didn't feel too great.  
  
 _"It was reasonable to have a dream about such occurances given the information we had about Astrit's whereabouts. It was not a vision, prophecies don't work that way. You've seen both Virgil and Era give prophecies, you know what happens,"_  Logan elaborated.   
  
 _"Just because it hasn't happened before doesn't mean that they can't do it!"_ Roman replied. _  
  
"Guys, Chelsea is coming back,"_ Patton blurted out suddenly, peering out the door and down the hall.  
  
Virgil let out a sigh of relief at the sudden distraction. He was used to Logan and Roman's arguments, but not when the subject of the arguments was himself.  
  
Not to mention he wanted to learn more about Astrit's condition.  
  
 _You're too late._  What if they really were too late? What if they'd taken too long and Astrit was barely clinging to life- or worse?  
  
He supposed they would find out soon enough.


	3. Chapter 3

The group remained abnormally silent as they followed Chelsea down the hall. Virgil did not know what to say, and neither did any of the others by the looks of it. There wasn't much to say until they saw Astrit and found out more about his condition.  
  
The room was emptier than Virgil expected, with only two Healers still remaining within the room and tending to Astrit.  
  
Virgil took in Astrit's appearance. He was still deathly pale, but it was easy to see that the Healers were hard at work. There were a few potions nearby, and one of the Healers was muttering spells under her breath Era was seated stiffly in a chair near the wall, her eyes glued on Astrit as if everything would fall apart if she dared to look away from her brother for even one minute.  
  
_"Era?"_  Patton said softly, trying to get the Gryffindor's attention. Despite Patton's best attempts to be gentle, Era still visibly jumped at the sound of her name.  
  
Patton winced at the sight.  _"I'm sorry, I...just wanted to check up on you and see how you were..."_  Before Patton could finish, Era threw herself into Patton's arms and began to sob openly.   
  
_"How did you...how did you survive when...when your brother was here?"_  Era whispered between sobs.  
  
The reason why Era sought out Patton over anyone else hit Virgil like a ton of bricks. It wasn't that she was closer to Patton than any of the others, it was that Patton had gone through something strikingly similar during the prior school year when Toby was bitten by the snake that turned out to be Deceit in disguise.  
  
Out of all of them,  _Patton_  could understand what she was going through the most, and it was only natural that she ask for his advice.  
  
_"I don't know,"_  Patton admitted in a quiet voice.  _"I mostly just took each day as it came. You know, they're going to do everything they can for Astrit. He couldn't have turned up in a better place than this,"_  Patton assured her.  
  
Era let out a tremulous sigh.  _"I know. It's just...he's more than just my brother, he's my best friend. He needs to make it through this, I don't know what I'll do if he does not."_  She cast her glance back toward Astrit, dabbing at her eyes.  
  
_"How is he?"_  Roman asked.  
  
_"Well he's alive, that's always a plus,"_  Era replied along with a chuckle that sounded almost hysterical.  
  
_"That's about all they can say for now,"_  Chelsea helpfully continued, recognizing that her girlfriend would need help in this endeavor.  _"They have him stabilized at the moment. There are no immediate threats to his life, but...that's only the short term. The long term is unknown."_  
  
Virgil wished that he could do more, but he feared that he would say the wrong thing and make everything ten times worse. Thus, he remained the quiet observer for the time being.  
  
_"I assume that they are still in the process of treating Astrit's injuries, and that is why no long term prediction can be given?"_  Logan inquired.  
  
_"That's exactly it,"_  Chelsea replied.   
  
"What sort of...um, injuries....," Virgil said at last, faltering in mid-sentence. Era looked as if she were about to cry again, and he figured that this was as good a sign as any that he should keep his mouth shut and not say anything else on the matter.  
  
_"What sort of injuries does he have?"_  Chelsea clarified. Virgil did not respond. Chelsea continued anyway.

She cast a glance over to Era first, as if asking for nonverbal permission from Era to share said information. Era slowly nodded.  
  
_"There was a long wound down his arm...a lot of the blood loss was from that. The Healers suspect the injury happened quite a while ago, so it was left unattended for a long time - presumably because Astrit was in a place or position where he couldn't stem the bleeding himself. They also believe he was subjected to multiple curses and are trying to assess the origin of those,"_  Chelsea paused, peering over at Era to assess how she was doing before she continued.  _"There was also a splinching...his hand,"_  Chelsea clarified.  
  
Era's hand flew to her mouth as she let out another sob, and Chelsea snapped her mouth shut at once in alarm.  
  
The entire room remained silent for the next couple of moments, the only noises breaking the silence coming from the two Healers over Astrit as they conversed with one another and did their jobs.  
  
Era, surprisingly, was the one who broke the silence.  _"They fixed the hand,"_  she murmured quietly.  _"They're giving him blood replenishing potions as we speak. But the blood replenishment potions aren't working as well as they should..."_    
  
_"What would cause a blood replenishing potion not to work?"_  Roman wondered.  
  
"A curse, maybe," Virgil offered.   
  
_"I do not know of any curses that would have that specific effect,"_  Logan frowned.  
  
Virgil snorted and shook his head. "You're looking in the wrong place then. You gotta look at Dark Magic."  
  
_"The cut on his arm,"_  Era pointed out.  _"It looks like it did a couple of years ago."_  
  
Virgil's stomach was doing somersaults.

 _"You mean it looked as it did in the Forbidden Forest?"_  Even Logan looked alarmed at this news.  
  
_"The exact same,"_  Era's voice shook with every word.  _"They put my brother through this so that...so that..."_  
  
"So that they might bring a dark wizard back to life," Virgil finished for her. "That's exactly what they were trying to do when Linus took me to...see..."  
  
_"Do you think they succeeded, then?"_  Patton asked in a quiet tone.  
  
_"We won't know for sure until either Astrit wakes up or the Council makes a move,"_  Roman admitted.  
  
The fact that this was so similar to his dream, though, continued to eat at Virgil.  
  
_You're too late._  
  
What if it  _was_  a sign? Logan insisted that the Sight did not work in this way, that he had not given a prophecy, but who was to say that this was a prophecy in the first place? If it was something that already happened, or was in the process of happening, it wouldn't exactly be a _prophecy_ would it? What if it was something else entirely? What were they too late for? Too late to save Astrit? Or too late to stop Dalibor's return?


	4. Chapter 4

Virgil and Logan returned back to their room at the Leaky Cauldron in dour spirits. As tempting as it was to stay at St. Mungo's with Era in a show of support, there was really relatively little that they could do. Era and Astrit's father and Astrit's mother turned up at St. Mungo's shortly after Era and Chelsea filled Virgil, Logan, Roman, and Patton in on what was happening. Chelsea opted to stay with Era and her family, but the latter four decided that they would only be in the way of Astrit's family.  
  
Virgil still hadn't said much, and he knew that Logan noticed this because Logan kept glancing over at him. Once they were in the safety of their room at the Leaky Cauldron, Virgil turned his gaze back toward Logan. "Go ahead, ask."  
  
 _"Excuse me?"_  Logan blinked.  
  
"Ask whatever it is that you want to ask. You've been glancing at me all afternoon."  
  
 _"I was merely making certain that you were alright. You've been quiet all afternoon."_  
  
"I'm  _usually_  quiet," Virgil retorted.  
  
 _"Not among friends you aren't. You have something on your mind,"_  Logan countered.  
  
"I  _always_  have something on my mind. That's kinda how my mind works."  
  
 _"You are worried about your nightmare and the similarities it bears to what happened with Astrit,"_ Logan said. It was not phrased as a question, but rather a statement.  
  
"...yes," Virgil admitted after a short pause.  
  
 _"I already told you - "_  
  
"The Sight doesn't work in that way. I know it doesn't. Giving a prophecy involves going into a trance, and I wasn't in a trance. But what if it wasn't a prophecy? What if it was something else entirely?"  
  
 _"Such as...? We know that there is a specific way that the Sight presents itself, and this does not follow any of the prior patterns that we have observed,"_  Logan reasoned.  
  
"That doesn't mean that it's  _not_ , though," Virgil argued.  
  
Logan slipped his shoes off and set them next to the door.  _"Virgil Thompson, you are not responsible for what happened to Astrit, nor was there any way you could have prevented what happened."_  
  
Virgil snapped his mouth shut at once, taking a seat on the edge of the bed and locking his hands together somewhat stiffly  
  
 _"Whether or not this was some sort of vision or prophecy or what have you is irrelevant. There was nothing that you or I or anyone could have done. Astrit is back with us, and is recovering at St. Mungo's. That is the best that we can ask for,"_  Logan told him.  
  
"I just...whether it was a vision or not...the nightmare said that I, or we, or whoever...that it was too late. Do you think they might have succeeded?" Virgil asked Logan.  
  
Logan frowned, loosening his tie.  _"Taking in what evidence we do have...the verdict does not look promising."_  
  
"You think they might have succeeded too, then." This wasn't a question on Virgil's part. He knew exactly what Logan was suggesting.  
  
 _"Given the similarities between Astrit's current injuries and the injuries he obtained two years ago - yes, such similarities do not bode well."_  
  
There was a knock on the door. Virgil nearly fell from his perch at the edge of the bed. He sent a hiss toward the door, causing Logan to arch an eyebrow in bemusement.  _"I can certainly see why your Patronus is feline in nature."_  
  
"Just shut up and answer the door," Virgil mumbled, covering his face with his hands in an attempt to cover up the blush that was forming there.  
  
He heard the sound of Logan turning the doorknob as well as the sound of the door dragging across the carpet.  _"Ms. Nyx?"_  
  
Virgil's gaze shot upward at once.  
  
Sure enough, Virgil's mother stood in the doorway. She peered around.  _"I like the room the two of you have here, though you are always welcome to come stay at my flat if you need to. I was also wondering if the two of you intended to go back to Hogwarts? The term began a few days ago, and I realize that the two of you are eighteen and also old enough to make your own decisions, but..."_  
  
 _"Rest assured, Ms. Nyx, we do intend to return to Hogwarts,"_  Logan informed her.  
  
"We do?" Virgil blurted out before he could stop himself.  
  
Renilda shot a glance toward her son.  _"You weren't planning on returning? At all?"_  
  
Virgil's eyes went wide at once. "No, that's not what I...I mean yeah, I do plan on going back, but there's a lot going on at the moment. I've already missed a lot too. I may just...go back next year."  
  
Renilda looked a bit skeptical, but did not press the subject with Virgil. Instead, she turned to Logan with a knowing smirk.  _"Make sure my son keeps his word."_  
  
"You don't have to bring Logan into this!" Virgil protested, though Renilda merely smiled in return.  
  
 _"Of course I do. I know that he will ensure that you keep your word,"_  she said with a wink, before her smile fell and her face grew serious.  _"That aside, I do want you to be careful. Rescuing Astrit is a dangerous endeavor..."_  
  
"Oh, uh..." Virgil started.  
  
 _"About that..."_  Logan did as well. The two of them exchanged glances, recalling all of the news that they'd received just  _today_  and how Renilda's information was still out of date.  
  
"Astrit actually turned up at St. Mungo's today," Virgil hastily explained, much to his mother's immediate surprise.  
  
 _"Really? That's great! Then you can return to Hogwarts immed-"_  Renilda began. Virgil frowned, and his mother's words trailed off.  
  
 _"You're still not going back, are you? Why?"_  she frowned.  _"Are you still worried about what you will do after Hogwarts?"_  
  
"What? No! I mean...yes, but...that's not why we're not returning," Virgil explained, once again realizing that Renilda thought he was just blowing off Hogwarts and not that he, Logan, and the others had a legitimate reason why they still would not return. "Astrit is still in the hospital fighting for his life, and we haven't found those who are responsible."  
  
 _"Who is responsible?"_ Renilda frowned. _"Is it...your father's former cohorts?"_  
  
Virgil nodded. Renilda scowled. _"If that man wasn't already dead I'd...oh dear, I need to send an owl to Rembrandt and Helena right away. Remember, my flat is open if you should ever decide to pay a visit."_  
  
Virgil gave his mother a hug and watched as she departed the room. Logan closed the door behind her and let out a small sigh. _"We should probably get some rest if we plan to visit Astrit in St. Mungo's tomorrow."_  
  
Virgil agreed, slipping back into his pajamas and into bed. Logan was in the bathroom when Virgil heard a steady tap at the window. He frowned and slowly made his way over.  
  
An owl? One that he did not recognize to boot.  
  
When it saw him, it began to tap even more frantically at the window. Virgil frowned and opened the window as the owl presented him with a scroll. With a loud hoot, the owl flew off once Virgil retrieved the scroll. Virgil closed the window and frowned.  
  
Who would be writing to him? Renilda just came to visit him, he'd seen Roman, Patton, Era, and Chelsea earlier today...  
  
The handwriting on it was familiar.  
  
Perhaps it was from Elliott, Shane, and Paige? They did intend to get back to Paige, Elliot, and Shane about what was happening and invite them on their rescue mission, so maybe this was them getting back to them?  
  
Virgil slowly undid the scroll...only to nearly drop the scroll in surprise. Written within was a list of Virgil's position within the Council, along with a message scribbled out beneath it.  
  
 _You will pay for your betrayal, Virgil Thompson._


	5. Chapter 5

What was Virgil even supposed to make of a note like that?  
  
It was a question that he decided he would have to tackle on his own. The whole thing was almost sickly amusing in its own way. Virgil hadn't betrayed  _anyone_ ; he'd joined the Council under false pretenses in the first place. Was he worried? Of course he was. The message he received was undoubtedly a threat, and knew that the Council had the means to carry out its threats. He just didn't want to burden anyone  _else_  with that information while they still had their hands full with other matters.  
  
Namely, Astrit's condition.  
  
There was only marginal improvement. This was comforting in that Astrit's life was no longer in immediate danger, but there was no marked improvement to showcase Astrit truly turning the corner toward making a full recovery either. It was hard  _not_ to get impatient, yet fear growing too impatient at the same time - what if the change they were finally hoping for happened, and Astrit's condition grew  _worse_  instead of  _better_?  
  
Virgil did plan on bringing the note up to his friends eventually...he just didn't think it was a good moment to do so.  
  
A number of days passed. Era spoke to Virgil, Roman, and Logan when necessary, but the bulk of her conversations were with her and Astrit's father, Astrit's mother, Chelsea, and Patton.  
  
This changed one day when Patton strode up to him after one such conversation with Era.  _"Era has a few questions to ask you...she says it's important, and she'd prefer to talk to you one on one."_  
  
"What about?" Virgil blinked in bewilderment.   
  
Patton gave a slight shrug.  _"I'm not sure...she didn't tell me. She just said that you'd be the only one who could answer these questions, and I'm not gonna argue with that. She said she'd be in the tearoom?"_  
  
"Okay...thanks for telling me, Pat," Virgil nodded to Patton to express his gratitude toward the Hufflepuff for passing on the information, then went to find Era.   
  
Why would Era want to talk to  _him_? Era's desire to talk to her father and step-mother made sense, as they were family. Her desire to talk to Chelsea made sense as well, as Chelsea was her girlfriend. Even Patton made sense, as he'd gone through something very similar with his own younger brother. Virgil, on the other hand...his own brother was in Azkaban, and his father was part of the group responsible for this in the first place. What could Era possibly get from talking to  _him_?  
  
Virgil walked into the tearoom, which, as luck would have it, was nearly empty at this hour. Virgil took a quick glance at his watch to make note of the time - if he had to make any other stops in the tearoom at any point he would prefer to do it at this time so as to avoid crowds - then made his way over to Era, who'd taken a seat in the corner.  
  
He was surprised to see that there were already two drinks on the table, one at the seat across from Era. There were only two seats at the table. Virgil frowned, fidgeting with the strings on his hoodie. Patton told him that Era wanted to see him, but it looked as if Era was already with someone? Era glanced up, made eye contact with Virgil, and motioned for him to come over. Virgil did as she instructed.   
  
Era then motioned for him to take a seat.   
  
Virgil frowned. "Should I get an extra chair?"  
  
Era cast a puzzled look at Virgil.  _"An extra chair? Why?"_  
  
Now it was Virgil's turn to be confused. "I don't want to take someone else's seat...I mean, they already have their coffee here and everything..."  
  
Era let out a snort.  _"That's not someone else's coffee. That's yours. And it's not coffee, it's hot chocolate. I figured it might help to soothe your nerves a bit. Coffee would probably only set them off worse. Least it does with me."_  
  
"...oh," Virgil felt a bit stupid now, but he took a seat across from Era nevertheless. He grabbed the mug and slowly lifted it to his lips, taking a few sips before setting the mug back down. It was still a tad hot, and he didn't want to drink too much too fast and burn his mouth, but it did taste good thus far. "Thanks Era. You didn't have to..."  
  
Era shrugged.  _"I wanted to. You seemed like you could use a pick me up."_  
  
"My brother's not the one in St. Mungo's," Virgil pointed out. "If anyone needs a pick me up..."  
  
 _"Yeah, maybe I do need a pick me up. In fact, I'm sure I do. But that doesn't mean I have a monopoly on it. We've all been through crap lately. We just...have to try to make the best out of a really crappy situation. Hence the hot chocolate,"_  Era countered.  
  
"You don't want to talk to me just so we can share hot chocolate though, do you?" Virgil inquired.  
  
 _"No...this might be asking a lot, so you're free to tell me to back off at any point,"_  Era began. Virgil frowned. What was Era referring to that she thought required that sort of disclaimer ahead of time?  _"I'm looking for information. Information on what might have happened to Astrit while he was with them. And...you're the most likely to have that sort of information out of anyone. Well, anyone I'm willing to talk to anyway...aside form Astrit of course."_  
  
Oh.  
  
Now he understood. He wasn't sure whether Era's desire to know what happened with Astrit was merely out of concern for what he'd gone through and what led to the condition that he was in now, or whether she thought such information might actually  _help_  treat Astrit, but either way he knew why it was important for Era to hear it.  
  
He just...couldn't promise that it wouldn't upset Era  _worse_ , and that made him hesitant to say anything. He supposed he needed to include a disclaimer of his own. "I can tell you what I know, but...you need to tell me if I need to back off at any point too."   
  
They needed to tread carefully, but at the same time this was a conversation that the two of them  _needed_  to have.


	6. Chapter 6

The two sat in silence for a moment or so, before they each realized that the other was waiting for them to speak first.  
  
Era was the one to actually break the silence.  _"You said you saw Astrit when...when you were with this so-called 'Council', didn't you?"_  
  
"Sorta," Virgil replied.  
  
_"...sorta? What's that supposed to mean?"_  Era furrowed her brow.  
  
Virgil chewed on the inside of his lip as took into consideration what he should say next - and how he should go about saying it. "He had the necklace on when I saw him."  
  
_"So...you saw Astrit's physical form, but...not Astrit himself,"_  Era concluded.  
  
Virgil nodded.  
  
_"Did you recognize him?"_  
  
Virgil wasn't expecting that question. He wasn't quite sure of the answer  _himself_. He had to close his eyes and put himself back in that situation, back in that frame of mind. "I recognized  _something_. It wasn't anything that jumped out at me, but...there was  _something_. I recognize what it is now, of course, but I had no idea what it was back then. I think I just figured I'd seen Astrit around Hogwarts. And something  _really_ struck me as off about Dalibor - he introduced himself as Peterson to me though."  
  
Era frowned. Virgil could not tell if she was disappointed that Virgil did not have more information, or if her upset came from the subject as a whole.  _"Do you think Astrit was aware of what was happening, or did they keep Dalibor in control the whole time?"_  
  
A question considerably more difficult for Virgil to answer, but he did have his suspicions. "He was kept in a cell within the room. I...I don't think they would have done that if it was only Dalibor they had to worry about."  
  
_"So Astrit had to have at least some awareness of what was happening to him. I'm...not sure if that's better or worse for him, overall,"_  Era's voice trembled slightly.  
  
"As someone who's been through both...yeah, I honestly can't say which one's worse. They both suck," Virgil admitted.

Virgil watched as Era took a long drink from her mug, as if consciously trying to delay the inevitable.  _"What happened the day the two of you disappeared?"_  
  
Virgil's eyes went wide as he realized that no, he  _hadn't_  actually discussed that day with anyone, in light of everything else that happened. They knew that Virgil and Astrit were taken, they knew who took them...but none of them knew the details of how it all came to be in the first place.  
  
_"Did he put up a fight?"_  Era wondered out loud.  
  
"He...didn't have much of a chance to," Virgil admitted, and Era's entire being seemed to deflate at that. Guilt pierced through Virgil at the sight. especially as he slowly realized that no, that wasn't  _entirely_  true.   
  
"Physically, at least," Virgil amended. "I didn't see the letter that he had in his hands, but he was calling out for his other sister."  
  
_"Snježana?"_  Era blinked in surprise. Virgil found himself wondering why Astrit hadn't told Era about something so important. Perhaps he didn't want to get his hopes up in the event that things didn't go well?

Though he doubted Astrit had any idea just how far south everything was going to go at that point in time.

Virgil nodded in affirmation. "As soon as he realized that she wasn't there, he demanded to know where she was and what they'd done with her."  
  
The corners of Era's mouth twitched upward almost imperceptibly at that.  _"That does sound like something Astrit would do. So they Disapparated with him before you could even do anything?"_  
  
Virgil blanched at that. "Y-Yeah..."  
  
_"Then you got captured?"_  Era continued.  
  
"I...yeah," Virgil replied.  
  
_"At which point you didn't see heads of tails of Astrit again until that incident we already discussed. Good to know,"_  Era remarked.  
  
Virgil nodded, shifting a little in his seat. He didn't feel like his testimony could have helped Era very much.  
  
_"Thank you, Virgil,"_  Era told him.  
  
Virgil arched an eyebrow, staring across the table at Era as if she had two heads. "You're thanking me? For what?"  
  
_"For giving me an idea of what Astrit went through. For helping me to fill in some of the blanks,"_  Era replied.  
  
"I didn't have that much information, though," Virgil protested. How on Earth could  _anything_  he said have been helpful? It would be one thing if they were still looking for Astrit, but he was in St. Mungo's now.  
  
_"It's something, though, and I'd rather have some idea of what my brother went through before he wakes up than no idea at all. Might help him to feel a little less disoriented that way,"_  Era mused.  
  
"The Healers said he'd wake up?" Virgil's gaze shot back to Era. There were no 'ifs' in Era's statement - she spoke as if she knew for certain that Astrit would wake up. It was refreshing to hear such confidence in the light of so much uncertainty as of late.  
  
Her expression lacked the certainty that her voice did.  _"They didn't."_  
  
"I'm sorry Er-" he began to apologize, but Era cut him off.  
  
_"He has to get better. You wanna know why?"_  
  
Virgil was so caught off guard he had no choice but to answer. "Why?"  
  
A look of determination came across Era's features, as if she were outright  _daring_  anyone to argue with her on this point.  _"Because he's a fighter, because he Apparated here specifically because he knew, on some level, that it would give him a fighting chance. He's not going to give up that easily, you mark my words."_  
  
Virgil could only hope that Era was correct.

But he didn't have time to dwell on that, at least not for the time being. A familiar voice was calling out his name, then Era's.  
  
It was joined by another, and then  _another_.  
  
Virgil could hardly believe his ears as he turned toward the source of the voices.  
  
Elliott, Shane, and Paige were making their way across the tearoom where Virgil and Era were sitting.  
  
Paige strode up to Era and threw her arms around her, Era returning the gesture. Shane gave a slight wave. Elliott, who had their hands in their pocket, nodded in Virgil's direction.  
  
_"Long time no see,"_  they said.


	7. Chapter 7

The group gathered in the tearoom - Roman, Logan, Chelsea, and Patton joining them after Shane went to fetch them.  
  
"Anyone else joins us and we'll have to reserve the entire tearoom," Virgil commented.  
  
_"Its not quite the abandoned classroom but I suppose it'll have to do,"_  Roman said with an exaggerated sigh.  
  
_"How's Astrit?"_  Shane asked.  
  
_"He's stable,"_  Era replied somewhat stiffly.  
  
_"That's good!"_  Paige smiled.  
  
_"Not always,"_  Elliott countered.

 _"He's been 'stable' for days now,"_  Chelsea informed the newcomers.  _"He hasn't gotten any worse, but he hasn't gotten any better either."_  
  
_"See?"_  Elliott said.  
  
_"Oh Era, I'm so sorry,"_  Paige pulled Era into another hug.  
  
A long silence ensued after that. It seemed as though no one was quite sure how to follow up such an announcement, even those who were present for everything.

 _"I'm going to go back to Astrit's room to see him...they only allow a few people in at a time so some of you are welcome to come see him...I just don't think all of us will fit into the room,"_  Era announced, slowly rising to her feet.  
  
_"I'll come with you,"_  Chelsea announced, to no one's surprise.   
  
_"Me too,"_  Paige added.  
  
_"I'll come too,"_  Patton joined in.  
  
Era, Chelsea, Patton, and Paige headed out of the tearoom. The others stayed where they were seated.  
  
_"This is all so crazy,"_  Shane suddenly said.  _"Astrit's awesome, and to think he might..."_  
  
_"Let's not think about that, then,"_  Roman countered. Shane nodded at once.  
  
_"How are you guys?"_  Elliott looked from Virgil to Logan to Roman.  _"Logan's letter made it sound like you guys went through the ringer too. Glad to have you back by the way, Virge."_ They cast a slight smile in Virgil's direction.  _"Sorry to hear about your dad though."_  
  
Logan jolted slightly at this. Virgil wondered just how much Logan told then about Linus' death - or if he mentioned who was responsible. "Its okay, really, he wasn't that good of a person..."  
  
Elliott snorted.  _"No shit. I wasn't saying I was sorry for your loss, I was saying that I'm sorry you had such a crap father in the first place."_  
  
"Oh," Virgil responded. "That...that makes more sense."

 _"How have things been with you guys?"_  Roman asked.  
  
_"I apologize for not getting a hold of the three of you sooner, but as you might have guessed, we were a bit preoccupied,"_  Logan added.  
  
_"Yeah, I dunno if we would have gotten here in time to help anyway, but it would've been nice to join you guys in taking down these jerks,"_  Shane sighed.  
  
"Technically we didn't take them down," Virgil admitted.  
  
Elliott and Shane exchanged looks before Elliott turned their attention back to Virgil.  _"Logan told me that your father..."_  
  
_"Yeah, only Virgil's father. My parents got away. I mean technically one of my older brothers got it too but...that was at the hands of my parents,"_  Roman informed them in a subdued voice.  
  
Shane made a whistling noise.  _"That's tough, man."_  
  
Understatement of the century if you asked Virgil - but he could hardly blame Shane and Elliott for not understanding the full extent of what they went through. They weren't present for it, after all. He was nevertheless glad that they were there now, and Logan and Roman appeared to be as well.

 _"Things at Hogwarts aren't too bad,"_  Shane shrugged.  
  
Virgil, Roman, and Logan were treated to the latest news from Hogwarts. Virgil was even more behind than Roman and Logan, however - and as the others discussed various events that happened after he and Astrit were taken, Virgil was forced to recall that his schooling was severely interrupted by everything that happened.  
  
The others might be able to return after everything was said and done. Virgil already missed several  _weeks_. There was no point in going back as far as he was concerned. He might as well repeat the entirety of his seventh year at this point.  
  
That being said, he didn't actually say anything in regards to this. Why draw attention to it?  
  
_"They're doing this neat program where you can take a couple of days out of the week to meet with someone who does a job you're interested in and ask them questions Its really pretty awesome. I'm thinking of giving it a try myself,"_  Elliott told the others.  
  
_"That does sound intriguing,"_  Logan agreed.   
  
A wave of owls came through the building, depositing letters and packages at various stops. One, much to Virgil's surprise, hovered in front of him where it held a folded up sheet of paper in its talons.  
  
Virgil took the sheet of paper, shrinking in on himself a little. He was with friends which ordinarily did not bother him, but to see all of their eyes on him as they waited for him to open the sheet?   
  
What if it was another threat? He still hadn't told them about the  _first_  threat, how would they react to his keeping that from them? Would they be angry?

Virgil tried to quell the shaking in his hands as he unraveled the sheet of paper. He found himself heaving a sigh of relief when he recognized his mother's writing - though his friends still gazed at him expectantly.  
  
_"Well?"_  Roman urged him.  
  
"Give me a chance to read it, sheesh," Virgil retorted, scanning the note. He only found himself more confused by its contents.  
  
_"Well?"_  It was Elliott who spoke this time.  
  
"She-" Virgil started.  
  
_"To whom are you referring?"_  Logan interrupted.  
  
"My mother," Virgil clarified, half tempted to tell everyone to get off his case for a second so that he could collect his thoughts "She wants me to meet her at her flat after we leave here. And she wants me to come alone. She wants to talk to me about something."  
  
What could she want to talk about with him that required that none of his friends - even Logan- were invited?  
  
The only conclusion that he could reach is that she wanted to discuss something concerning family. And Virgil wasn't sure what to make of that.  
  
Then again, he wasn't sure what to make of a  _lot_  of things anymore...


	8. Chapter 8

"I'll see you soon, L," Virgil told Logan as they went their separate ways upon reaching Diagon Alley. Logan would head back to their room at the Leaky Cauldron, while Virgil would meet with his mother at her flat down the street. Virgil fiddled with the end of his sleeves as he strode up to the doorway of his mother's flat. He gave a few quick raps at the door before standing back to wait for his mother to answer the door.   
  
It did not take long for Renilda to pull the door open, smiling at her waiting son.  
  
Well, Renilda was smiling. That had to be a good sign...right?  
  
_"You do know that you, Logan, and any of your other friends are welcome to stop by if you want,"_  Renilda reminded him.  
  
"...you called me here to tell me  _that_?" Virgil blinked.  
  
_"Merlin no! That would be a waste of time! I would have sent that along with the rest of my note!"_  Renilda laughed.

"Then why did you call me here?"   
  
Renilda smiled and motioned for Virgil to follow her.  _"I have someone I want to introduce you to."_  
  
Virgil froze at once. "You want to  _introduce_  me to someone?"  
  
Renilda smiled.  _"Don't worry, I think you'll like him."_  
  
"That's not the part I'm worried about..." Virgil muttered under his breath as Renilda led him into the next room. Indeed, there was someone waiting for him within the room. He just didn't expect it to be someone  _familiar_.  
  
"Professor Picani?" he gaped.  
  
_"Hello! Do you how do?"_  the man greeted with a smile.  
  
_"The two of you know each other already?"_  Renilda glanced back and forth between the two in surprise.  
  
"I mean...not entirely. He's a professor at Hogwarts, but he teaches Muggle Studies. I don't have him as a professor, but some of my friends do?" Virgil scratched at the back of his neck. "How do you..."  
  
_"How do we know each other?"_  Professor Picani looked over to Renilda.  _"Do you want to explain that or shall I?"_  
  
_"I will,"_  Renilda said.  _"I suppose you could call Emile here an old family friend! He was good friends with your uncle Rembrandt during school, and has stayed in touch with him since!"_  
  
His uncle was friends with one of the professors at Hogwarts? Why hadn't he known this until now?   
  
_"You may be wondering why I'm here, Virgil,"_  Professor Picani stated in a gentle voice that reminded him of Patton's. Yet there was a certain intensity in his gaze that reminded him of Logan.   
  
Realizing that he had yet to answer Professor Picani, Virgil hastily nodded.  
  
Renilda took a deep breath, diverting Virgil's attention back toward her at once.  _"I...thought you could use someone to talk to. You don't have to, of course...I would never force you into doing such a thing, but I think it could benefit from you."_  
  
Virgil's gaze shifted from his mother toward Professor Picani, then back toward his mother again. "Talk to? Talk to about what?"  
  
Renilda seemed to struggle with what she was going to say before she actually said it.  _"I know you have your friends. Your friends are wonderful. But...I've also noticed that you don't talk to them much about what happened."_  
  
"I don't...I mean, I've talked to them about it, but...I...they already have enough to worry about. Astrit's still in the hospital, they're still not sure what's going to happen to him..." Virgil struggled to explain.  
  
_"You feel as if sharing your thoughts with your friends would be providing them with an extra burden,"_  Professor Picani explained.  
  
"...y-yeah," Virgil admitted.   
  
_"Which is exactly why I sought Emile's services,"_  Renilda explained.  _"In addition to his professorship at Hogwarts, he works as a Muggle therapist, you see."_  
  
Virgil bounced his leg up and down as he considered what his mother and Professor Picani were telling him. On the one hand, talking to Professor Picani meant opening up to a stranger - something that Virgil wasn't a huge fan of. Then again, he wasn't a  _complete_  stranger - Virgil knew him vaguely as a professor at Hogwarts - one whose class Patton and Roman thoroughly enjoyed - and he was also a friend of Uncle Rembrandt. Those two positive associations already helped to ease Virgil's nerves some, though it would be foolish to think they would disappear entirely.  
  
With that said, Virgil  _did_  have things he wanted to talk to his friends about - and Professor Picani was correct in his assessment. It wasn't that he didn't trust his friends with such information, it was that he didn't want to  _burden_  them. Not only did they still have Astrit to worry about, but they were still processing their own experiences. They didn't need to deal with Virgil's on top of that.  
  
But his attempts to disregard what he'd gone through and carry on with his life weren't working as well as he hoped - to the point where his  _mother_  noticed and was offering him a hand.  
  
"Okay, I'll do it," Virgil said at last. He hoped that he would not regret it.  
  
Professor Picani smiled.  _"Great news! I can pencil you in for Monday at 7?"_  
  
Virgil blinked in confusion.

 _"How do you feel about our first session taking place on Monday at 7?"_  Professor Picani amended.  
  
"Oh...uh, that sounds good to me," Virgil said with a slight shrug. He was surprised that it would be so soon, but he imagined that Professor Picani's friendship with his uncle probably had something to do with that arrangement.  
  
Professor Picani jotted something into the notebook in his hands before snapping it closed.  _"Wonderful! I will see you both later, but for now...th-th-th-that's all folks!"_  
  
Renilda chuckled at this, while Virgil once again stared blankly.  
  
_"It's a reference to a Muggle cartoon,"_  Renilda explained, still snickering.  
  
_"Maybe I'll bring it in next time so that you can check it out,"_ Professor Picani said with a wink as he headed out the door.  
  
And despite everything, Virgil actually felt the corners of his mouth twitch upward ever so slightly.


	9. Chapter 9

As expected, Logan was waiting for Virgil when he returned to the Leaky Cauldron - and he immediately requested details as to what unfolded at Renilda's flat.  
  
 _"You don't look too distressed. I take it everything went well?"_ Logan asked.  
  
Virgil shrugged. "'Bout as well as it could have."  
  
 _"What did your mother have to say?"_    
  
"She wanted to introduce me to someone," Virgil began.  
  
 _"Introduce you to someone?"_  Logan furrowed his brow at that.   
  
"Technically it's someone I already know...do you remember Professor Picani? Roman and Patton have him for Muggle Studies."  
  
Logan cast Virgil a bewildered expression at that.  _"Professor Picani? Why did your mother introduce you to Professor Picani? Does she wish for you to take Muggle Studies courses while you are away from Hogwarts?"_  
  
Virgil snickered at the thought of that. Of all the courses his mother might want him to take while he was away from Hogwarts, he was certain that Muggle Studies - a class that he was not even enrolled in at Hogwarts - would be nowhere near the top of the list.

"Would be kinda ridiculous for me to take a class outside of school that I don't even take at Hogwarts, even though it's a class that's offered," Virgil told Logan, shaking his head. "He's apparently a Muggle therapist?"  
  
Logan's eyes widened.  _"A therapist? I wasn't aware that your mother even knew what a therapist was."_  
  
"She's not completely stupid when it comes to Muggle things," Virgil laughed. "But yeah, I guess Professor Picani and my Uncle Rembrandt were friends back in Hogwarts and are still friends to this day," he elaborated. "Not sure if it was my uncle who suggested it first or if my mother reached out to him herself, but my first session with him is next Monday."  
  
Logan smiled.  _"I'm glad. I think it will be a benefit to you. Would you like me to join you for your first session?"_  
  
Virgil considered it. On one hand, he would feel more comfortable overall if Logan was present, given that he still did not know Professor Picani that well. On the other hand, he wouldn't want to bring up everything that was on his mind if Logan was there. Not because he didn't trust Logan with that information, but because he'd already been through enough. What if Logan took that the wrong way, though?  
  
"I think I'll be fine, but I'll let you know if that changes. Thanks Lo," Virgil replied.

For a brief moment, Virgil considered asking Logan if he wished to see Professor Picani himself. He knew that Logan was still struggling with everything that happened. That being said, Logan was  _incredibly_  stubborn and refused to admit to even Virgil that he was bothered until Virgil called him out on it.   
  
Suggesting that Logan talk with Professor Picani? Virgil did not see that going well at this point. Perhaps he would at a future date, but Logan needed to reach the point where he was willing to admit that he  _needed_  to talk to someone first.  
  
That said, he was supportive of Virgil speaking with Professor Picani, so he supposed that was  _something_.  
  
"Have you just been reading the whole time I was at my mother's?" Virgil asked, noting the book on the table next to where Logan was seated.  
  
 _"Not the whole time, admittedly. Patton and Roman joined me for a short period of time. Patton seemed to think that I would get too lonely without your presence and wanted to offer his company, and of course Roman elected to join him as well,"_ Logan informed him.

"That's good that you had company at least," Virgil responded.   
  
 _"I suppose-"_  Whatever Logan was about to say was cut off by a steady tapping at the window. Virgil frowned. His first thought was that the wind was making something hit agains the window, but upon actually glancing over in the direction of the window? His stomach lurched at what he saw outside.  
  
An owl was tapping at the window, just as it had a few days before. Virgil tried to rise to his feet, but Logan was already on his way to the window.  _"I'll get it,"_  he called out.  _"Who would send an owl at this time of night?"_  
  
"Its only 9pm, L," Virgil said with a nervous laugh. He had an idea of who might send an owl at 9pm as they'd done it once before. Logan didn't know about that, though. How would Logan react if he found out that Virgil hadn't told him about something so important? Would he be upset?  
  
Logan retrieved a letter from the owl's talons and held up a finger. He fetched an owl treat and gave it to the owl, who ate it before giving a chirp and flying off.  
  
Virgil eyed the letter closely. Maybe he could distract Logan, get the letter away from Logan...but Logan would still wonder what the letter said, and he'd have to tell Logan. He could always make up an excuse...  
  
 _"Virgil, are you alright?"_  Logan interrupted with a frown.  
  
"Yeah, I'm just...thinking."  
  
 _"I see,"_  Logan replied, shooting Virgil an odd look before turning his attention back to the letter in his hand. Virgil bit down on his lip.  
  
Logan muttered under his breath as his eyes steadily grew wide. He rose to his feet at once, grabbing his wand and a jacket.  
  
"Logan?" Virgil asked, voice tinged with worry.   
  
 _"Grab your things, Virgil. We're going to see Roman and Patton, and then we're going to St. Mungo's,"_  Logan directed him. Virgil stood dumbfounded for several seconds before grabbing his own jacket and wand.  
  
"What's going on?" Virgil inquired as they were heading out the door. It certainly did not appear to be another threat - unless, Virgil thought with a jolt, they made good on their threat and another of his friends was now in St. Mungo's.  
  
  
Another of his friends...because  _Astrit_  was already in St. Mungo's.  
  
"Logan!" Virgil hissed, causing Logan to pause and stare back at him. "What is going on? Does this have to do with Astrit? Is he okay?"  
  
That was when the thing Virgil least expected to happen  _happened_. The corners of Logan's mouth drew upward into a grin.  _"I would go so far as to say that 'okay' is an understatement in this instance. He just woke up."_


	10. Chapter 10

Soon after departing their room, Virgil and Logan ran into Roman and Patton. The other couple received a similar owl around the same time - Virgil figured that Era must have sent out the owls simultaneously. He could hardly blame her - He would want to get the news out as soon as possible as well. Virgil wondered if Astrit really did  _just_  wake up, or if he'd been awake for a little while. Virgil wouldn't blame Era for not writing to them right away, after all - that was quality time she'd doubtlessly want to spend with her brother.  
  
The quartet made their way to the 'condemned department store' that actually contained St. Mungo's. Virgil and Logan checked to make certain that no Muggles were watching them as Patton and Roman stepped through the window. Virgil and Logan hastily followed, lest they wind up spotted by Muggles themselves.  
  
 _"Hey guys! Long time no see!"_  Chelsea called out cheerily.   
  
 _"Is it true? Is Astrit really awake?"_  Patton asked her at once.  
  
 _"He is...that's why I was sent down here to greet you guys. As you might have guessed, Era doesn't really want to leave Astrit's side. Can't say I blame her. If something happened to one of the twins...I don't even know what I'd do."_  Chelsea seemed to shudder at the thought.  
  
"Can't imagine what that must be like," Virgil commented wryly. After all, his relationship with his own brother was less than stellar.

 _"Nor can I,"_  Roman admitted.  
  
Of course. Virgil knew both of Roman's brothers. One was in Azkaban alongside Deceit. The other, Linus enlisted to tutor Virgil in the Dark Arts when he was still under Linus' enchantments.   
  
 _"Come on, I'll take you up to his room. I think they'll only let a couple of you in at a time though. Era and his parents are already in there with him, of course, and I don't think they'll be leaving any time soon. Maybe two more at a time? Elliott and Shane are on their way. Paige is still upstairs with Era,"_  Chelsea explained as they began to walk to Astrit's room.  
  
Virgil had a fair idea of where Astrit's room was located thanks to earlier visits, but it still helped having someone to guide them there. As they approached the room, Virgil could see through the open doorway that Astrit was sitting up in bed.

 _"Who wants to go first?"_  Chelsea asked.  
  
Virgil, Logan, Roman, and Patton exchanged looks with one another. It was Patton who broke the silence.  _"You two can go first. Roman and I will go in after."_  
  
Virgil's gaze shifted to Roman, who gave a nod of agreement. He looked to Logan, who shrugged back at him. Virgil and Logan made their way into the room, Virgil hanging back behind Logan slightly. He didn't know how Astrit would react to seeing him. He was still under Linus' memory modification spells the last time he saw Astrit - though Astrit himself was possessed by Dalibor at the time, so it was possible that he did not even remember this.  
  
Astrit, Era, and Astrit's parents glanced up when they heard Virgil and Logan's footsteps. The first thing Virgil noticed was that everything about Era looked brighter and happier. She smiled at Virgil and Logan, a smile that reacted her eyes for the first time in days - no, probably  _weeks_.  
  
Astrit, too, looked better than he had in a long time. Virgil and Logan made their way over, Astrit's parents informing them that they would be grabbing a bite to eat, as they hadn't eaten anything in hours. Virgil, Era, Chelsea, Logan, and Astrit bade them farewell, and Patton and Roman entered the room as they left.  
  
 _"Hey guys,"_  Astrit said in greeting to all of the newcomers.  
  


 _"Hey there kiddo! Glad to see you up and at 'em again!"_  Patton smiled.  
  
 _"I don't know if I'll be 'up and at 'em' for a while still, but thanks,"_  Astrit said with a weak smile.  
  
 _"You're back with your family and friends and you're safe. That's a major improvement,"_  Roman pointed out.  
  
 _"That it is. And I'm so glad to have him back,"_  Era said, beaming as she reached out to squeeze her brother's hand. Chelsea smiled fondly as she stood nearby and watched.  
  
Astrit was quiet, though - and it had Virgil wondering if Astrit was really as 'okay' as he was pretending to be. He wasn't sure that he wanted to bring that up, though - it was a happy reunion, and what if he made everything worse for Astrit by bringing it up in the first place.  
  
 _"That was a wise move you made, Apparating to St. Mungo's with the last of your energy when you have not even attended an official Apparition class,"_  Logan commended Astrit.  
  
Astrit offered a small shrug in return.  _"I just knew I had to get out of there, and...yeah. I...I'm glad it worked."_  
  
 _"So are we, Astrit. You have no idea how much we've missed you,"_  Era told him.  
  
One corner of Astrit's mouth twitched upward.  _"Oh? I think I might have some idea."_  He held out his arms and he and his sister embraced one another.  
  
When Astrit pulled away, Virgil noticed that he did so incredibly slowly - as if he did not want to give up that contact, out of fear that he might never have it again. He could hardly blame Astrit after what he'd been through, but it was still painful to watch.  
  
 _"I'm glad you're back on the right side, Virgil,"_  Astrit told Virgil, causing him to blink in surprise.  
  
"You...you knew about..." Virgil swallowed.  
  
 _"They taunted me, when I had control. Said you'd switched loyalties. My kind ancestor decided to allow me to watch when he met you,"_  Astrit explained, rolling his eyes at the word 'kind'.  
  
An involuntary shiver coursed through Virgil at the memory, at the way Dalibor  _goaded_ him - it bothered him them, but not to the extent that it did now that he knew exactly what Dalibor was referring to and how he got a  _kick_ out of that.  
  
"I'm...I'm glad you're back," Virgil replied, unsure what he should even say in response to something like  _that_.  
  
 _"Astrit...there is one more question that we have that we feel needs to be answered,"_  Logan began calmly.  
  
Astrit turned to Logan and inclined his head slightly.   
  
 _"...what, exactly, happened on the night you escaped?"_


	11. Chapter 11

Virgil watched Astrit closely for his reaction. As he observed Astrit's face slowly draining of color, he realized that he and the others better brace themselves. Even all of the best case scenarios that Virgil could dream up still wound up with Astrit at St. Mungo's with life-threatening injuries, after all.

Even Logan, who wasn't always the best at reading emotions, realized that he might have misstepped.  _"If you are not ready to discuss it now we may shift to another subject..."_  
  
 _"No, I'm as ready as I'll ever be,"_  Astrit insisted.  _"Besides, its stuff that you all need to know."_  
  
Era cast an alarmed expression Astrit's way.  _"Are you sure? You don't have to, you just woke up..."_  
  
 _"I do have to, actually, because I'm sure at least some of it is important and you guys need to know,"_ , Astrit replied.

Era frowned.  _"Okay...but if it bothers you too much, you don't have to keep going. You can always tell us later."_  
  
Astrit nodded, then cast his gaze toward the others.  _"So...what do you guys know already?"_  
  
Patton cast a furtive glance toward Virgil before he went to answer Astrit's question.  _"Most of what we know we know from Virgil. A group called the Council took you and Virgil, you were wearing the horcrux necklace when Virgil saw you, Dalibor was controlling you..."_  A shudder went through Astrit at that, and Patton stopped talking at once.  
  
 _"Yeah...that's pretty much all he'd know. To be honest, I don't know a ton more myself...Dalibor was around a lot, they seemed to think I would be easier to control that way. They weren't wrong,"_  Astrit muttered, his hands clenching into fists.   
  
 _"Where are they now?"_  Era growled.  
  
 _"I don't know. They gathered me for the ceremony..."_  Astrit began. Virgil felt as if someone punched him in the chest. Logan, Chelsea, Era, Patton, and Roman all bore similar expressions of horror.  
  
 _"You mean...the ceremony with the necklace?"_  Roman asked, though the look on his face made it painfully clear that he knew the answer - he just didn't want to say it.  
  
Astrit nodded.  _"There were a lot of people there. Pretty much everyone I saw involved with the project and more. Except for Virgil's father...he was missing, oddly enough."_  
  
 _"Yeah, don't worry. Logan saw to that,"_  Roman said with a smile, clapping Logan on the shoulder. Logan's tensed at once. Upon seeing this, Virgil surreptitiously grabbed Logan's hand and gave it a squeeze.  
  
 _"Logan saw to what?"_  Astrit furrowed his brow in confusion.  
  
"He's gone for good. Linus is gone for good." Relief leaked into his tone, and though he felt a  _tad_ bit guilty about this, it was only because it felt strange to be thankful for his own father's death. But given everything that his father did to him and others that he cared about...well, to say he deserved it was selling Linus short. Linus probably deserved a fate far worse than  _that_.  
  
Judging by the slight twitching at the corners of Astrit's mouth, he felt similarly.  _"Good, he was one of the worst of them all. Roman, your parents were there...your brother wasn't, though I saw him around before to..."_  
  
 _"Yeah...about that."_  Now it was Roman's turn to look uncomfortable.  
  
 _"Roman's parents killed him, thinking he was me,"_  Patton murmured quietly.  
  
Astrit let out a shaky sigh.  _"I...I'm still not sure if I was dreaming or it if actually happened, it all felt like a dream. He made me carve up my own arm and hold it over the potion and then...and then he dropped the necklace into the cauldron using my hand. That's when all hell broke loose. That's when I...I escaped."_  Astrit's eyes widened.  _"I escaped."_  It was as if the reality of the situation was truly sinking in for the first time.  
  
A few tears trickled down Astrit's cheeks, and once Era made note of this she immediately pulled her brother in for a hug.  _"Yes, you did. You're safe now, and I'm not going to let anything happen to you ever again."_    
  
 _"You're safe now, kiddo,"_  Patton agreed with a smile.  
  
 _"Am I, though? Are we?"_  Astrit asked, wiping at his face with his hand.  
  
 _"You're here, and you're awake, and..."_  Roman started, but Logan interrupted him.  
  
 _"And we don't know what happened with the ceremony that Astrit described. If it succeeded - and it sounds like it very well may have - we now not only have to worry about the Council but a dark wizard that was supposed to be lost to history decades ago,"_  Logan assessed.

 _"That's what I'm worried about,"_  Astrit confirmed in a small voice.  _"I'm sorry I didn't see what happened, I'm sorry I'm not more help..."_  
  
 _"You did what you could given the situation, Astrit. You did a wonderful job, don't sell yourself short,"_  Era assured him.   
  
 _"But I don't even know if the ceremony succeeded or not,"_  Astrit protested.  
  
 _"You were on the verge of death when you Apparated here, Astrit,"_  Chelsea told him.  _"I don't think anyone here blames you for not paying more attention to what was happening around you."_  
  
 _"Yeah...we're all just grateful you're alive,"_  Roman chimed in.  
  
"And the information you've given us  _does_  help. We know there's a possibility that there's a brand new dark wizard on the loose, something we wouldn't have known if you hadn't told us," Virgil pointed out. Not that any of them particularly  _welcomed_  such news, but it was better than not knowing.  
  
 _"Which...isn't exactly comforting but it does give us more of an advantage than if we didn't know anything at all?"_  Patton provided, giving a nervous smile to the others as he gave voice to the same line of thought that Virgil was heading toward.  
  
 _"You're right, Patton, it does,"_  Roman agreed.  
  
 _"I'm...getting a bit tired..."_  Astrit mumbled. The statement was punctuated with a yawn as if to accentuate the point.  
  
 _"We should probably take our leave, then. You have been through a lot, and you need your rest to properly recover,"_  Logan observed.  
  
With that, the group bade their farewells and promised to visit soon. It sounded as though Astrit would have to remain in St. Mungo's a while longer to assure that he was doing better.  
  
As for the others...they realized they had to change gears. Prior to Astrit's appearance at St. Mungo's, all of their preparations and efforts were devoted to finding Astrit and rescuing him. Now? They had to redirect those preparations and efforts toward fighting a potential dark wizard the likes of which they'd never seen before. A dark wizard who was capable of creating a  _horcrux_.  
  
Virgil didn't think he'd be sleeping too well that night.


	12. Chapter 12

Virgil made his way to his mother's flat, playing with the zipper on his hoodie as he stood at the door in wait. His mother pulled the door open and greeted him with a smile and a tight hug. Virgil would swear that his mother's hugs seemed longer now than they used to, as if she were afraid to let go - afraid she might lose him again.  
  
_"Emile's waiting for you in spare room. We figured it was the best neutral area in the house,"_  Renilda told him.  _"Good luck."_  
  
"You make it sound like I'm walking to my doom. It's just therapy," Virgil said with a slight chuckle to cover up the nerves that he was feeling. Yeah, it was 'just therapy', but that didn't stop him from feeling nervous about the whole arrangement. Professor Picani seemed nice enough, but just how much was Professor Picani going to push? How was this therapy thing going to work? He'd never done it before, and what he knew came from mostly fictional depictions and what Logan told him.  
  
Virgil entered the room and closed the door behind him gently. Professor Picani looked up and smiled.  _"Hello! Do you how do?"_  
  
Virgil blinked at him in confusion, to which Professor Picani responded with a lighthearted laugh.  _"Oh right, you're a pureblood. That's a reference to a Muggle cartoon. Why don't you take a seat and we can get right to it?"_  
  
Virgil slowly made his way to a seat, taking in his surroundings. The fact that this was the spare bedroom in his own mother's flat made him feel a little more at ease, but he still had a hard time looking at Professor Picani. Was that a bad thing? Would Professor Picani take that the wrong way? He couldn't help but feel that Professor Picani's eyes were on him, scrutinizing his every move...then again, wasn't that sort of Professor Picani's job? Or was he paying more attention to what Virgil said than what he did?  
  
_"Hmmm, to start, why don't you tell me a bit about yourself?"_ Professor Picani asked, drawing Virgil out of his less than pleasant thoughts.  
  
"About myself?" Virgil shot him a bewildered glance.   
  
Professor Picani nodded.  _"Of course! In order to help you properly I need to know what makes you tick!"_  
  
Virgil shuffled a little in his seat. "Well, um...I'm not even sure where to begin..."  
  
_"Lemme help. What house were...are you in at Hogwarts?"_ Professor Picani inquired.  
  
Well that didn't require much thought on Virgil's part to answer. "Slytherin," he replied.  
  
Professor Picani wrote something down.  _"Ah, Slytherin. Home of the cunning and the ambitious."_  Virgil shuffled again at that - something Professor Picani seemed to  _note_ , judging by his next comment.  _"That makes you uncomfortable."_  
  
Virgil tensed up at that. He wanted to deny it, but he couldn't very well do that when Professor Picani would likely be able to tell that he was denying it - and that would just make things worse in the long run. He still wasn't ready to say anything, though, and instead merely nodded.  
  
Professor Picani wrote something else down.  _"You don't have to tell me why it makes you uncomfortable, but..."_  
  
But the fact that he  _wasn't_  saying anything would hang in the air throughout the rest of their sessions and possibly longer, so he felt as if he had to say something by default. He had the sneaking suspicion that Professor Picani knew this, and Virgil wasn't sure if he was unnerved or impressed.  
  
"I don't really feel like it fits me," Virgil admitted. It was his first time doing so in a while, and his first time doing so to someone who was not a friend or family member.   
  
_"Oh? Do you have a house that you think would fit you better? How did you wind up in Slytherin if you didn't think the house fit you?"_  Professor Picani asked.  
  
Virgil bristled at that. "Whoa whoa...I didn't say I didn't think  _Slytherin_  fit me, I said I don't think I'm particularly cunning or ambitious."  
  
_"But those are the traits that Salazar Slytherin supposedly valued most in his students,"_  Professor Picani pointed out.  
  
"Yeah, well, that's not exactly what drew me to Slytherin," Virgil grumbled, his eyes widening slightly as he realized what he'd just admitted to.  
  
_"If those traits did not draw you to Slytherin, if you do not feel that they particularly describe you...what did?"_    
  
Virgil's gaze drifted downward toward his shoes. "I didn't...I...I don't want to talk about that right now."  
  
He managed to glance toward Professor Picani, who was looking at him in curiosity.  _"Very well then. Let's switch gears a little bit...is there a house you feel would fit you better than Slytherin?"_  
  
Virgil folded his arms across his chest. "Well, the sorting hat suggested Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff," he mentioned.

 _"Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff? Hmmm, I could see that,"_  Professor Picani commented lightly.  
  
Virgil arched an eyebrow at this. "You can? You don't even know me that well."  
  
Professor Picani shrugged.  _"Fair point. You don't think you exhibit any qualities that would qualify you for Ravenclaw or Hufflepuff house?"_  
  
"Not really," Virgil mumbled.  
  
_"You don't think you're hard-working, patient, or loyal?"_  
  
Virgil let out a snort at that. "I let myself get tricked by my own father into turning against my friends."  
  
Professor Picani frowned deeply.  _"Now Virgil, from what I've heard from your mother, I hardly think that does justice to what happ-"_  
  
"As for Ravenclaw, what are the traits...intelligence? Creativity? Wit? Yeah, that's not me either." Virgil continued before Professor Picani could finish his statement.  
  
Professor Picani looked as if he were about to say something, but then he furrowed his brow as he shook his head. Virgil hardly paid any attention.   
  
_"Do you feel you fit in Gryffindor, then?"_  Professor Picani questioned.  
  
Virgil burst into laughter at that. "I'm not courageous or brave in the  _least_ , so no."  
  
_"If I didn't know any better, I would say that you chose Slytherin because you did not feel as if you belonged in any of the other houses, but it doesn't sound like you feel as if you belong in Slytherin either..."_  Professor Picani remarked.  
  
Virgil shrugged. He wasn't sure what the point of any of this was.  
  
_"If the Sorting Hat suggested Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff for you, it had to have seen some of the traits of the house in you,"_ Professor Picani pointed out.  
  
Virgil let out a snort. "Well, it obviously saw something that wasn't there."  
  
Professor Picani set his notepad aside for a second and looked at Virgil closely.  _"Do you think you could describe yourself in a few words for me? Nothing too fancy, just a few words you think might describe yourself."_  
  
Virgil recognized that this question was in the same vein as the 'tell me about yourself' question from earlier, but phrased in a way that was, admittedly, easier to answer. "Grumpy, paranoid, lazy, killjoy, gullible..."  
  
Professor Picani held up his hand.  _"I'm going to stop you right there Virgil...are there any positive words that you can think of that you would use to describe yourself?"_    
  
"Uh...I'm good at Defense Against the Dark Arts?" Virgil offered.  
  
Professor Picani furrowed his brow once more, grabbing his notepad and writing something else down before setting his pen and paper aside once more and adjusting his glasses.  
  
_"I would like you to go to your friends and family and ask them to describe you using five words. Write those words down and read them at least a few times a day. I think you might be surprised at what they have to say,"_  Professor Picani said with a wink.  
  
Virgil let out another snort. "Of course they're going to say good things about me. They're my friends and family, they  _have_  to. Doesn't make those words true."  
  
Professor Picani gave him a sad smile.  _"Doesn't make those words_ _false either."_  
  
Virgil left his mother's flat, unsure what to make of this first session with Picani. Despite his derision at the idea in front of Picani, Virgil could not help but admit that he was curious as to how his friends would describe him. He entered the room he shared with Logan, Logan reaching to grab a bookmark and mark his spot in his book before giving his full attention to Virgil.  
  
_"Greetings, Virgil. How did the session go?"_  Logan inquired.  
  
"It went...well enough, I suppose," Virgil shrugged, slipping his shoes off. "Just out of curiosity what are five words you would use to describe me?"  
  
Logan blinked in surprise.  _"Five words..."_  A contemplative expression crossed Logan's features.  _"I would say that you are diligent, perceptive, intuitive, honest, and intelligent. Why?"_  
  
"...just curious, like I said," Virgil responded in what he hoped would come off as a nonchalant tone.   
  
For all that he told Picani it would not matter, that of  _course_  his friends would have good things to say about him, no matter how false those words were...it felt good to hear them nevertheless.


	13. Chapter 13

Virgil and the others continued to visit St. Mungo's nearly every day, save for Elliott, Paige, and Shane who went back to Hogwarts once the weekend was over (the others pledged to keep them updated via owl). Astrit's condition continued to improve, and though he was by no means ready to leave St. Mungo's, he'd managed to get up and walk around the ward on one occasion. He quickly grew winded and had to return to his bed, but he was  _improving_ , and that was the important thing.  
  
Era spent as much time around him as she possibly could, to the point where Astrit actually had to plead with her on one occasion to go get some rest in an actual bed. She had bags under his eyes, he noted, and while he appreciated her presence, she needed to look out for herself as well. It took Astrit pledging that he would still be in St. Mungo's when she returned for her to finally acquiesce.  
  
Astrit watched her retreating back and let out a sigh.  _"I feel bad sending her off. I know why she's here, but...she needs a break or else she's going to end up here as a patient herself."_  
  
"She wound up in the Hospital Wing in our fifth year at Hogwarts, so it's not like she doesn't have a history of that," Virgil agreed.  
  
 _"I guess one good thing about this whole arrangement is that I'll have another year to study for my OWLs,"_  Astrit pointed out.  
  
Virgil burst into laughter. Logan looked affronted.  _"I highly doubt...I mean...I suppose that's one way to look at it..."_  
  
"I mean, he's already missed out on a lot of the stuff that's going to be in his OWLs so unless you're suggesting we tutor him in  _everything_...he's probably got the right idea here," Virgil retorted.

 _"Yes, but that is hardly a reason to celebrate,"_  Logan replied.  
  
"Duh," Virgil said with a chuckle.  
  
 _"It's less 'something to celebrate' and more 'trying to find something good in an otherwise crappy situation',"_  Astrit admitted.  
  
 _"In that case, I suppose I can understand,"_  Logan said, adjusting then smoothing out his tie.  
  
"It bothers you that we're not going to take our exams on time, doesn't it?" Virgil observed.  
  
 _"I...must admit that I was hoping to graduate on time,"_  Logan revealed.  
  
"You can still go back, L. I don't think any of us will be upset with you for it. We know how important your education is to you," Virgil told him.  
  
Logan shook his head at once.  _"Education is important, yes, but not as important as getting to the bottom of what is happening. There is potentially a highly dangerous dark wizard on the loose - and even in the event that Dalibor has not returned to life, we still have the Council to worry about. As much as I would like to continue my studies, I do not feel that it is wise to do so while I attempt to adequately prepare for any future encounters with such dark wizards. I just...worry that putting off my studies will reflect badly and hurt my chances of obtaining a job."_  
  
 _"Really? I'm pretty sure fighting a dark wizard and rescuing your boyfriend from the clutches of his crazy father are good enough excuses. Might even count for real world experience! And you know how all these jobs are about experience!"_  Astrit pointed out.  
  
"...how do  _you_  know about that? You don't graduate for another couple of years," Virgil arched an eyebrow.  
  
Astrit shrugged.  _"You stay in a hospital for a while and you start overhearing conversations between people. Not like there's much else to do when you're stuck in bed most of the time."_  
  
"True," Virgil shrugged. He'd been at St. Mungo's the previous year, and though he hadn't been  _quite_  as bad off as Astrit was in terms of the sheer number of injuries he'd obtained, he'd been bed-bound for much of it as well.   
  
 _"Can't wait to get out of here,"_  Astrit mumbled, more to himself than to Virgil or Logan.  _"Can't do much of anything while I'm stuck here."_  
  
 _"Do not push yourself too hard too fast, lest you wind up here all over again,"_  Logan warned.  
  
 _"I don't plan on running a marathon, I just wanna get out of here,"_ Astrit muttered, folding his arms across his chest.

They left Astrit soon after, promising to visit him again soon. Astrit looked as if he wanted to bound out of bed after them, and Virgil could not help but feel for him.  
  
 _"We should bring him books to read,"_  Logan mused.  
  
"Didn't Era already bring him a few?" Virgil wondered. "I saw a couple on the table next to his bed."  
  
 _"Yes, but I'm sure he's read through all of those already,"_  Logan reasoned.  _"If St. Mungo's had televisions like Muggle hospitals did, it might be helpful. Even as a child I generally preferred books to the television, but in situations like this a television might come in handy - at least then Astrit might be able to watch a movie or two."_  
  
They arrived at their room soon enough, Virgil hastily digging into his bag to look for something that he might be able to lend or give to Astrit to make his stay at St. Mungo's a little less tedious.  
  
 _"What is this?"_  Logan asked, reaching for something in his peripheral vision.  
  
"What is what, Lo?" Virgil turned to look, only to feel his blood run cold when he realized what Logan was holding.  
  
 _"This, it has your name on...is this a threat?"_  Logan stared at the paper intently, as if he could not believe what he was reading.  
  
"That's how you read it too?" Virgil replied.  
  
Logan cast a concerned glance at Virgil.  _"When was this sent to you?"_  
  
"...just yester..." Virgil began, but paused when he saw the skeptical look Logan was sending his way. "...last week."  
  
Logan sighed, squeezing the bridge of his nose between his index and middle fingers and his thumb.  _"We need to address this...I'm going to go get Roman and Patton."_  
  
So much for not making his friends worry. It was nice while it lasted?


	14. Chapter 14

Virgil stayed back in his and Logan's room while Logan went to fetch Patton and Roman. Virgil briefly considered escaping out the window and running off before the inevitable confrontation, but he heard a knock at the door before he could put serious consideration into such a drastic measure.  
  
Taking a deep breath in an attempt to muster up every bit of courage that he could, Virgil made his way from his perch atop the edge of his bed to the door and pulled it open.  
  
Logan, Patton, and Roman stood on the other side.  
  
Virgil wordlessly stepped aside to let his boyfriend and two friends into the room. It wasn't that he didn't  _want_  to say anything to them - he didn't know what  _to_  say.

 _"Let us see the note, Virge,"_  Roman told him.   
  
Virgil retrieved the note from where it lay on the nightstand and handed it to Roman. Roman's eyes skimmed over the paper, Patton peering over his shoulder. Patton's gaze then shifted to Virgil.  _"Oh kiddo..."_  
  
"I'm sorry," Virgil half-mumbled, half-grumbled. On the one hand, he would understand if his friends were angry with him for not confiding in them, but he also felt defensive - there was a  _reason_  why he did what he did.

 _"For what? We're not mad at you,"_  Patton assured Virgil, much to his surprise.  
  
 _"Speak for yourself...what were you thinking keeping this to yourself?"_  Roman had his arms folded across his chest.  
  
 _"That is not going to help with anything, Roman,"_  Logan scolded. He turned back to Virgil.  _"I presume you did not want to trouble us with this information in light of everything else that was conspiring?"_  
  
"Guilty as charged," Virgil admitted with a wry smile, hoping to inject some humor into this awkward situation.  
  
 _"You were threatened by the Council! That's serious business!"_  Roman hissed.  _"Do you have any idea how dangerous what you did is?"_  
  
"Do you have any idea how dangerous what  _you_  did back at Thompson Manor was?" Virgil bit back.  
  
Roman blinked.  _"Touche."_  Clearly he hadn't expected  _that_ , and Virgil gained a small amount of satisfaction at what little upper ground he gained, given how backed in a corner he felt.  
  
"Besides, is there really anything we can do about this threat?" Virgil pointed out.  
  
 _"I'm sure we can think of something,"_  Logan replied.  
  
 _"...does this mean they know where you are?"_  Patton asked in a somewhat hesitant voice.  
  
"What?!" Virgil's eyes blew wide.   
  
 _"They sent you a threat, so they must know where you're staying if it got to you? Which means they know you're here..."_  Patton's voice was barely above a whisper.  
  
Virgil could feel his heart picking up speed. He hadn't considered that,  _why hadn't he considered that..._  
  
Logan cleared his throat.  _"I do not believe that we need to concern ourselves with that. I presume the note was left via owl?"_  
  
Virgil nodded, and all at once relief washed over him as he realized what Logan was getting at by asking this question in particular. "Yes...so the owl found us, but owls can find anyone. Owls have been sent to people on the run, but those people remain on the run."[/i]  
  
 _"Our location is still secure...hopefully,"_  Roman asserted.  
  
"What if it's not though? What if the Council sends another owl and they find a way to follow it this time?" Virgil mumbled.

 _"I...I'm not certain that such a thing is even possible..."_  Logan said, though Virgil could tell that he wasn't  _certain_  of that, and thus the words did little to comfort Virgil.  
  
 _"If you'd told us about this sooner we could have better prepared for that possibility,"_  Roman blurted out.  
  
Logan shot him a glare.  _"While I agree that Virgil should have told us when he first received the note, there's no use in needling him about it now. "_  
  
 _"It's all rather vague though, isn't it?"_  Patton observed.  _"It just says he'll pay for his betrayal. It doesn't say how or what that betrayal even is."_  
  
"Going against the Council, no doubt," Virgil said darkly.  
  
 _"But it wasn't your choice to join the Council in the first place!"_  Patton protested.  
  
"Wasn't it? I was completely on board with the idea when I attended the meeting I did," Virgil admitted.  
  
 _"Yes, but you weren't in your right mind. You were under an enchantment,"_  Logan countered.  
  
"I  _really_  don't think they care about that," Virgil let out a sigh. "As far as they're concerned, this may very well look like a betrayal."  
  
 _"I would have assumed that they were involved?"_  Logan tilted his head slightly.  
  
Virgil shook his head. "I don't think they were. It doesn't match with why Linus seemed to want me around. Everything was about living up to the Thompson family name. The so-called 'cause' was important too, of course, but...I don't think he did what he did to me to just to get another foot soldier for the cause. He did it to improve his own standing within the Council. I heard the way some of them talked about Li-Deceit and Phillip and how they wound up in Azkaban. They saw it as a disappointment."  
  
 _"...so he was trying to pass you off as if you were following in his footsteps all along?"_  Patton gaped.  _"That's horrible!"_  
  
 _"Makes complete sense to me,"_  Roman muttered.  
  
 _"I fail to see how that makes any sense whatsoever?"_  Logan arched an eyebrow in his confusion.  
  
Roman and Virgil made eye contact, and Virgil could tell by the severe look on Roman's face that Roman very much  _did_  understand where he was coming from, because his parents were the  _same way_.  _"Neither of you grew up in prominent pureblood families so neither of you would understand, but in pureblood families this sort of thing happens often."_  
  
 _"Parents enchant their own children to believe that they lived entirely different lives?"_  Patton's expression was nothing short of horrified.  
  
"Well no, they don't usually go  _that_  far. That was desperation on Linus' part," Virgil let out a derisive snort.   
  
 _"They do, however, take to showing off the next generation at a young age, as proof that they will continue the proud pureblood line. Some families will even arrange marriages while their children are barely old enough to run around,"_  Roman revealed to Logan and Patton.  
  
This time, Logan looked just as put off by the comments as Patton did.

 _"I never went along with it. Drove my parents up the wall,"_  Roman smirked.  _"With the way Virgil speaks of Linus, not to mention his absolute desperation to try to get Virgil under his thumb, I would assume that Virgil's own attitude toward his father was similar."_  
  
"Probably a little less outspoken," Virgil admitted. "You've always had more guts than I have. You weren't even sorted into Slytherin."  
  
Roman shrugged.  _"I didn't even know there was an option to ask the sorting hat to go into a house other than the one it suggested. I loved what I heard about Gryffindor, and thus I took no issue with the hat suggesting that house."_  
  
Virgil sighed. Here he'd been hoping that he would be able to put this part of his past behind him for good with Linus' demise. So much for that...


	15. Chapter 15

Given everything happening, the group was desperate for good news.  
  
They finally received it one day about a week after Virgil, Logan, Roman, and Patton met in Virgil and Logan's room at the Leaky Cauldron.   
  
It wasn't good news of the  _immediate_  sort, but it was good news nevertheless. "How much longer do you have to stay?" Virgil asked Astrit once Astrit revealed a juicy piece of news - He'd been informed that he would be released soon!  
  
 _"They say just a day or two!"_  Astrit was practically grinning from ear to ear.  
  
Despite the distraction that Logan finding Virgil's note provided, Virgil and Logan did present Astrit with a few books to read. Roman and Patton brought him an old handheld device on which he could play games - Patton even brought a few games for him to choose from.

The device was called a 'Nintendo DS', and the games that quickly came out as the favorite to discuss among the group were two games called Pokemon FireRed and Pokemon LeafGreen. Apparently there were  _many_  other Pokemon games, but these two were the only two that Patton brought along from that particular franchise. Even when Astrit wanted to take a break from Pokemon, there were other games that he could play and other books that he could read, not to mention conversing with his friends and family when they came to visit. Overall, it seemed as if the last few days of Astrit's convalescence were far more enjoyable now that he had something to do to bide his time.  
  
Nevertheless, Virgil could tell that he was thrilled about his impending release. Virgil could hardly blame him. Astrit was getting up and moving around more now in preparation for his release, but he was still confined to just a certain area within St. Mungo's. Once he was discharged, he'd be free to move about like normal again.

Astrit was in the middle of playing LeafGreen when Patton got the ball rolling for a new but related line of conversation.  _"Y'know, it's too bad Togepi isn't in these,"_  he said with a sigh.  
  
 _"Of course now, he's a Generation II Pokemon and the FireRed and LeafGreen games make use of primarily Generation I Pokemon,"_  Logan replied.  
  
"Generation II? There's more than one generation of these things? Like, they have kids?" Virgil stared.  
  
Patton burst into laughter at that. Even Logan smiled a little, and Virgil knew that he'd said something that was going to look incredibly ridiculous once he understood where they were coming from.  
  
 _"Not generations in that sense. Generation II Pokemon are not the children of Generation I Pokemon, but rather a different batch of Pokemon that were released in a different set of games,"_  Logan elaborated.  
  
"...well I feel stupid now," Virgil mumbled.  
  
 _"Nah, don't. I didn't know that either,"_  Roman shrugged.  _"Incidentally, if we're talking about our favorite Pokemon, I would have to go with Jigglypuff. They're a singer and a performer, and I can get behind that."_  
  
 _"I'm sure you can,"_  Logan said with a slight eye roll.  
  
 _"What about you, Specs? Do you have a favorite?"_  Roman retorted.  
  
 _"As a matter of fact, I am quite found of Alakazam,"_  Logan revealed.  
  
Patton looked surprised to hear that.  _"Alakazam? I wouldn't have pictured you as the type to go for a Psychic type, Logan! I was thinking something more like Magnemite since you're so smart!"_  
  
 _"Yes, well, I am a fan of Magnemite as well, but Alakazam has held a special place in my heart since I was a small child,"_  Logan mumbled, his face turning faintly red.   
  
Virgil cleared his throat in an attempt to draw the attention away from his embarrassed boyfriend. "Mine's Haunter...out of the ones I've seen, anyway."  
  
 _"A ghost Pokemon. Of course,"_  Roman teased.  
  
"What's wrong with that?" Virgil raised an eyebrow.  
  
 _"Nothing, just that you tend to like things that lean a little dark and Haunter definitely qualifies,"_  Roman chuckled.  
  
 _"It's not even a Dark type, though,"_  Logan countered.  
  
 _"I think I prefer the Flying types myself,"_  Era piped up.  _"I did a little research on the games when you brought them for Astrit, and I think I'd probably have to go with Fearow if I had to pick one."_  
  
 _"I like the Fire types the best,"_  Astrit said with a small grin.  
  
Chelsea let out a chuckle and ruffled Astrit's hair.  _"Never would have guessed that, what with you picking Charmander at the beginning."_  
  
 _"What would you pick, Chelsea?"_  Astrit asked her in response, reaching up to smooth out his hair almost immediately.  
  
 _"Probably Eevee,"_  Chelsea replied.  _"That's the one you can evolve into three different types depending on what you choose, right?"_  
  
 _"Three in this version. There are actually more options in other Generations,"_  Logan confirmed.  
  
 _"Then definitely Eevee,"_  Chelsea grinned.  _"It's like a choose your own adventure!"_  
  
Astrit continued playing his game, with Patton and surprisingly  _Logan_  giving Astrit the occasional pointer when he seemed to reach a tough spot. Era was deep in conversation with her father and stepmother, presumably about Astrit's impending release.   
  
Virgil felt a tap on his shoulder, which made him jolt. "What the..." He turned to face Roman. "Can I help you?"  
  
Rather than look amused at the fact that he'd startled Virgil, as Virgil expected him to, Roman looked...almost nervous himself? Not at all what Virgil was expecting.   
  
 _"Can I talk to you? Preferably somewhere other than here...I don't particularly want the others to know about it,"_  Roman whispered so quietly that Virgil had to lean in closer to hear it properly.  
  
"Not even Patton?" Virgil blinked in surprise.  
  
A look of guilt crossed Roman's features.  _"Not even...look, I do plan on telling him, I just...can we go somewhere?"_  
  
Virgil sighed. "Come on, let's get out of here before any of the others notice and try to follow us." He motioned for Roman to follow him. The two eventually made it to an empty stairwell. Virgil turned to Roman expectantly, stuffing his hands into his pockets. "Well?"  
  
Roman kicked at the ground, unable to even look Virgil in the face. Virgil honestly found that somewhat alarming - It was rare to see Roman look so  _insecure_. Roman finally glanced up and cleared his throat.  _"I was, er...I was wondering if...look, this isn't easy for me. I'm used to trying to handle things on my own, but...ugh this is a lot harder than I thought it would be."_  
  
Virgil wasn't sure what to say or do, so he opted to keep silent and wait for Roman to either reveal whatever it was he wished to talk to Virgil about or keep quiet on the whole thing.  
  
Though with the way Roman was acting, Virgil could not deny that he was curious as to what had Roman so riled up...  
  
 _"DoyouthinkProfessorPicanimight...ugh, nevermind,"_  Roman muttered under his breath to himself.  
  
Though Virgil could  _barely_  make out what Roman said owing to the speed at which he said it...he'd heard enough to at least  _guess_  at what Roman was trying to say. "Roman...do you want to see Professor Picani too?"


	16. Chapter 16

Virgil awaited Roman's answer. Roman's gaze shifted back toward the ground, and Virgil had the sinking feeling that he was going to have to take the reins in this conversation if he wanted it to go somewhere. Taking a deep breath, Virgil continued on. "You do, don't you?"  
  
Roman mumbled something that Virgil could not quite hear. He leaned a little closer. "What did you say?"  
  
_"...yes,"_  Roman admitted. His voice still lacked most of the vibrancy that Virgil was used to from Roman - almost to the point where he took it for granted - but at least he spoke loud enough that Virgil could understand what he was saying.  
  
"I can mention something to Picani next time I see him?" Virgil suggested, trying his best not to make the situation any more awkward than it already was.  
  
_"...thanks,"_  Roman muttered.  _"I just..."_  
  
Virgil inclined his head slightly in anticipation.  
  
_"Our conversation yesterday made me realize something. I...have tried to manage this myself for years, but to no avail. You are just as stubborn as I am, if not more,"_  Roman observed.  
  
"...thanks Princey, I'm not sure how to take that but I'll roll with it," Virgil said with a slight chuckle.  
  
_"Hush, I'm trying to generate a moment for us here and you're ruining it,"_  Roman hissed back.

"Get on with it then," Virgil retorted.  
  
 _"I would if you would stop interrupting me!"_  Roman cleared his throat.  _"As I was saying before I was so rudely interrupted...you accepted the idea, despite your reluctance toward...well, a lot of things. I figured if you could do it...I could do it as well."_  
  
While that  _did_  make sense, Virgil remained confused about something. "What does that have to do with yesterday's conversation?"  
  
 _"Oh, that,"_  Roman said.  _"It reminded me that we have more in common than just our stubborness. I realize that I may have come across as a little...uncouth toward you last night. In truth, under similar circumstances I would have likely done the same as you did. It's...our childhoods were much different than those of our respective boyfriends. They grew up with a support system that they could count on. We...didn't."_  
  
Virgil let out a snort. "That's putting it a lot nicer than I would have. I would have just said your parents and Linus were assholes and left it there."

 _"Maybe so,"_  Roman agreed, and Virgil was pleased to see that Roman had the slightest of smiles on his face. Roman then let out a sigh, glancing around as if to be certain that no one else was in the nearby vicinity.  
  
Virgil did as well, suspecting that Roman had a reason for doing so, and that he ought to help Roman with this endeavor.  
  
Once the two ascertained that no eavesdroppers were in the immediate area, Roman immediately returned his focus back to Virgil.  _"You remember how I said that some families like to arrange marriages? I was speaking from experience there."_  
  
Virgil stared. "You...your parents..." The Princes were even worse than he thought, and to think that he fraternized with them, considered them close allies while under his father's enchantment...

A shudder went through Virgil.   
  
Roman continued.  _"Her name was Delilah."_  
  
"...her?" Virgil stared.  
  
It was Roman's turn to let out a snort.  _"Yes, her. Good pureblood boys get married to good pureblood girls and continue the path of blood purity, you know."_  Roman rolled his eyes.  _"You can tell how well I took to that."_  
  
"Considering Patton is about as far as you can get from a pureblood girl, I have some idea," Virgil replied. "Your parents didn't take it well though, I'm sure."  
  
Roman let out a strained sounding noise that sounded halfway between a laugh and a groan.  _"They weren't pleased, no. It wasn't always bad, though. Before I was old enough to understand what an arranged marriage entailed, I was on board with the idea. She was my best friend...but that's all she was."_  
  
"Sucks that your parents had to ruin that," Virgil frowned.  
  
 _"Well...it wasn't just my parents,"_  Roman admitted.  
  
"Oh?" Virgil said with a surprised blink.  
  
 _"My parents did not find out because I told them, but rather because I told her,"_  Roman revealed.  
  
Virgil's eyes widened in horror. "She outed you to your parents?"  
  
Roman nodded.  _"I thought I could trust her with that information. She even promised that she would not tell anymore, that my secret was safe with her. Once she told my parents though...I had no reason to pretend any longer. I suppose she did me a favor in that regard."_  
  
"That doesn't excuse what she did! You trusted her with that information!" Virgil protested.  
  
 _"No, it does not, but at least I learned where she truly stood,"_ Roman muttered darkly.  
  
"Where is she now? I don't think I've seen anyone named Delilah at Hogwarts..."  
  
 _"She attends Durmstrang, that's why,"_  Roman told him.   
  
Virgil furrowed his brow. He was surprised that Roman admitted all of this to  _him_  before Patton, but he supposed he could understand why. He wouldn't want Patton to hurt because of what he went through - the same reason Virgil wanted to keep the threat he received a secret from his friends. What's more, Virgil would understand just how horrible purist parents could get.

Virgil chewed on his bottom lip, trying to figure out what to say next. "How are you coping with...with everything that happened at Thompson Manor?"  
  
 _"Do you want the truth or what I keep telling everyone so they don't worry?"_  Roman huffed.  
  
"The truth."  
  
 _"I'm coping terribly. What about you?"_  
  
"Same. Is Patton really okay?"  
  
Roman seemed to falter at this. Virgil raised an eyebrow. "Remember, you said you'd tell the truth..."  
  
Roman sighed.  _"He has nightmares almost every night. What about Logan?"_  
  
"He does a good job of holding it together, but he has these little habits he does when something is bothering him and he's been doing a lot more of those lately," Virgil replied.  
  
 _"...we're all a mess, aren't we?"_  Roman said with another sigh, glancing up at the ceiling.  
  
Virgil folded his arms across his chest and blew at his bangs. "With everything we've been through, I'd be more surprised if we weren't."


	17. Chapter 17

Virgil and Roman rejoined the others soon afterward.  
  
The others, of course, were curious as to where Virgil and Roman wandered off to.  
  
 _"Don't just disappear like that! We had no idea where the two of you got off to!"_  Logan scolded.  
  
 _"Oh calm down pocket protector, we just went off to get something to eat,"_  Roman said with a wave of his hand.  
  
"Yeah,  _mom_ , nothing to..." Virgil began to tease, letting his sentence trail off when he realized just how worried Logan looked. And why wouldn't Logan be worried? The last time Virgil disappeared, it was for  _weeks_  on end.

"We'll give you a heads up next time," Virgil amended.  
  
Logan appeared to relax a little at that, and Virgil let out his own sigh of relief.

 _"Is everything alright?"_  Patton asked, eying the two of them.  _"You could have invited us to get something to eat too!"_  
  
Roman paled at that.  
  
"Yeah, I just wanted to talk to Roman about something that happened with his parents. Nothing too big," Virgil hastily explained. He didn't like lying to Patton, but he could tell that Roman wasn't ready to tell Patton yet, and Virgil would do what he could to cover for Roman.  
  
 _"Oh...yeah, they're not very nice people, are they?"_  Patton frowned, and Virgil wondered if he'd chosen the right excuse. Roman's parents were under the impression that James was Patton when they killed James, and Virgil realized with a start that he might have just inadvertently reminded Patton of that.  
  
 _"No, they're not,"_  Roman snarled, venom dripping from every syllable. It was apparent that he too was reminded of how his parents treated who they  _thought_  was Patton.   
  
 _"I think you should go with an Articuno. What do you think, Era?"_  Chelsea asked Era in the meantime, drawing the attention of the others.  
  
 _"I don't know if I can choose just one...they're all flying types,"_  Era frowned.  
  
 _"I like Moltres,"_  Astrit chimed in.  
  
Era chuckled.  _"Of course. The fire type."_  
  
Everyone began to hastily chime in with their position on the legendary birds (Virgil was quite partial to Zapdos with what he'd heard), and the overall mood in the room noticeably began to perk up once more.  
  
Virgil shot a glance at Chelsea who, like him, was content to watch what was unfolding and only chime in occasionally. Virgil shot her a small grin, tilting his head slightly in the direction of the others to indicate them.  
  
Chelsea nodded and winked, thus confirming what Virgil suspected - She'd blurted out that comment on Articuno on purpose to diffuse the tension.  
  
And diffuse the tension she did. By the time Virgil, Logan, Roman, and Patton made their way to the Leaky Cauldron, their moods were considerably higher than they were before. Nevertheless, just before the two couples parted for the night, Roman took Virgil aside for a few seconds.  _"Thanks for covering for me earlier."_  
  
"No prob, what are friends for? You better be planning on telling Patton eventually though. I don't mind keeping this from him for now, but I'm not gonna make a habit out of this," Virgil warned.  
  
 _"I will. I swear on my honor as a Gryffindor!"_  Roman declared.  
  
"...you have a habit of taking everything over the top, don't you?" Virgil smirked.  
  
 _"Oh hush,"_  Roman retorted.

 _"What was that about?"_  Logan questioned with an odd look back toward Roman as they made their way into their room.  
  
Virgil shrugged. "Dunno, he likes to be extra about everything."  
  
 _"That is not what I meant. I assume this had to do with the conversation you and Roman partook in earlier?"_  The Ravenclaw quirked a brow upward.  
  
Virgil blanched at that. Logan saw right through them, and now he was probably mad at him for keeping  _another_  secret - but this time it was for Roman's sake! It wasn't his secret to tell!  
  
Logan let out a deep sigh.  _"I will not ask what the two of you discussed, as it is clear that one or both of you desire to keep that information from the rest of us."_  
  
"Sorry," Virgil mumbled.  
  
 _"No need to apologize, I am not upset. I am merely forming a hypothesis based on the clues that I have brought together,"_  Logan explained.  
  
"Sorr-oops," Virgil cleared his throat in an attempt to stop himself from apologizing for apologizing. How ridiculous was that?  
  
 _"There is one thing that I must ask, though - In withholding this information, are you placing anyone - yourself included - in risk of danger?"_  
  
Virgil was taken aback by this question, but it  _did_  force him to consider the situation as a whole.

 _Did_  keeping Roman's secret pose a threat? Not so far as Virgil could tell. The only tidbit of information that might benefit Logan and Patton now rather than later was knowledge of Delilah's existence - though Virgil could certainly see why Roman did not want to bring her up, especially in front of Patton.   
  
That said, Delilah having once been Roman's betrothed meant that she was connected with the Council. The more information they had concerning the Council the better. Virgil couldn't recall seeing her at the Council meetings he did intend, but if she was indeed a student at Durmstang she might have been at school at the time.  
  
Like he ought to have been if his father hadn't nearly ruined his life.  
  
At this point, even if all of their problems disappeared at once, Virgil would not go back until the next school year. He'd missed too much already.

Virgil shook his head. "I don't think so."  
  
Logan nodded, apparently satisfied with this answer - much to Virgil's relief. Even though he wasn't lying, he remained nervous at the idea that Logan might ask more questions and that he might accidentally blurt something out that he didn't want to and betray Roman in the process.   
  
 _"Very well. That, shall we say, places the ball squarely in Roman's court, and he can share with the rest of us when and if he is ready to do so."_  
  
"Thanks for understanding, Lo," Virgil replied, a slight smile making it's way onto his features.  
  
Nevertheless, he did hope that Roman would be ready to confide in the others at some point - though he supposed that was part of what seeing Professor Picani was all about.


	18. Chapter 18

_Virgil and the others were at Thompson Manor. He knew that it had to be done - He was technically the rightful heir to the Thompson family home, as Lionel was still imprisoned. Virgil was initially disowned, but Linus reversed this when he'd placed his memory modifications on Virgil - and with everything that ensued when his friends came to rescue him, Linus never had a chance to disinherit Virgil once more.  
  
As such, Virgil had to return to Thompson Manor with a member of the Ministry to determine which family heirlooms Virgil desired to keep and which ones he wished to never see again so long as he lived.  
  
Hint - The vast majority of the items within the Manor fell into the second category.  
  
The Ministry official insisted on walking through every room in the house. They were all difficult, but the worst room to enter was the room that he called his own growing up - and again briefly when his father modified his memories.  
  
A shudder coursed through his entire body as he entered the room. "I don't want anything in here," he declared.  
  
The Ministry official, to his credit, looked sympathetic. "I understand this was your room though...are you certain that you do not want anything?"  
  
"Why would I want anything from the time that I was held captive?" Virgil scoffed.  
  
"Very well. There are two more items that we wish to ask you about," the Ministry official announced, motioning for Virgil and the others to follow him.  
  
The Ministry official led them into the living room, where the enchanted eye from Borgin and Burkes sat and stared. Virgil could hardly believe that he'd actually thought the item was fascinating at one point - at the behest of the memory charms his father performed, of course - because it gave him goosebumps in an entirely different way now.  
  
"Get rid of it," Virgil blurted out immediately.  
  
The Ministry official looked at him in confusion. "We were under the impression that this particular item actually belonged to you in the first place..."  
  
"It did, but that was back when...when Linus...just take it away, now," he urged.  
  
"Very well," the Ministry official responded. "The other is...well, this old Slytherin scarf,"the Ministry official gestured to the scarf on the table.  
  
"Oh...that's the scarf I was wearing when...yeah," Virgil trailed off.   
  
He didn't think anything of it. He strode forward and threw the scarf around his neck as he'd done many times before. "I've seen enough. I'm ready to get ou...ou..."  
  
"Virgil? Are you okay?" he heard Patton asking worriedly.  
  
Virgil tried to respond, but found that he couldn't. The scarf was constricting around his neck, preventing him not only from talking but from breathing properly. He reached his hands up to try to pull the scarf from his neck, but it was to no avail. If anything, the struggle only caused the cursed scarf to tighten around Virgil's neck. His vision began to dull at the corners._  
  
Virgil's eyes shot open as he let out a gasp. He quickly glanced over at Logan, who still appeared to be fast asleep...Virgil let out a sigh. He contemplated jostling Logan awake, but decided against it. Sure, Logan comforting him would be  _nice_ , but Logan was sleeping soundly and Virgil didn't particularly want to inconvenience him by waking him up for a nightmare. It wasn't as if nightmares were new to Virgil - or to any of them for that matter.  
  
Virgil made his way to the kitchenette in their room, grabbing a glass and pouring himself some water. He would take a few sips and then he would try to fall back asleep once his heart rate slowed a little.  
  
It was then that he noticed movement by the window.  
  
Any attempts at slowing his heart rate were rendered moot by this one observation, and he very nearly chucked his glass of water at the window. Thankfully he did not, as he noted that an owl was hovering outside the window. Frowning, Virgil opened the window and retrieved a scroll from the owl. The owl flew off, and Virgil closed the window. He unraveled the scroll to find a note from his Uncle Rembrandt.  
  
 _This is an old family heirloom. I thought that you might like to have it.  
  
\- Uncle Rembrandt_  
  
Attached to the paper that the note was written on was a ring. Virgil had to admit that he was not only curious but a tad confused - Why not give an old family heirloom to Remy? Did it just not suit Remy's admittedly particular tastes, or was Uncle Rembrandt simply trying to give something nice to Virgil out of perceived 'fairness'? It didn't help that his mind was still addled from the nightmare he'd already had and the fact that it was the middle of the night and he'd been startled out of a deep slumber. The red flags might have been a bit more noticeable were he in a better state of mind.  
  
Virgil went to remove the ring to look at it closer, only to feel a sudden pain in his head. He groaned, the ring slipping from his hands and falling to the ground as he clutched at his head.  
  
But it was too late. The pain began to spread throughout the rest of his head, down into his face, and further down. A scream tore its way from his throat, and what dim awareness he still had of his surroundings alerted him to the sound of Logan jumping out of bed at once and heading in his direction.  
  
 _"Virgil? Virgil?! What's wrong?"_  
  
Virgil couldn't bring himself to answer. It was all too much for him to bear. His vision grew dim in the corners again, but this time he would not wake up safe in his bed as if nothing happened. This time, he could not fight back. He allowed the darkness to claim him, unsure of what would await him when he woke up...or if he would even wake up at all.  
  
As this occurred, another note appeared in red on the paper that now lay on the ground beside Virgil, in hauntingly familiar writing.  _You will pay for your betrayal, Virgil Thompson._


	19. Chapter 19

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I'll be going on vacation the next couple of days if all goes as planned, but I do have one chapter written for the Virgilclaw AU and hope to write at least a couple more chapters for this today so that I can post them gradually over the next few days. I may have a chance to work on some writing while I'm on vacation too, but...just in case. XD
> 
> Also...buckle in folks. As you might have guessed, here's where things get a bit bumpy.

Virgil's head was swimming.  
  
He was faintly aware that he was laying on something soft - a bed? His surroundings slowly came more and more into focus.  
  
He was laying in the bed he shared with Logan in their room at the Leaky Cauldron. Had he had another nightmare? This one seemed so real though.  
  
 _"Do you think we should take him to St. Mungo's?"_  he heard Roman say. He sat up slightly, trying to listen in on what the others were saying.  
  
 _"It depends on how badly the curse is affecting him,"_  Logan replied.   
  
 _"Oh I hope he'll be alright,"_  Patton chimed in, tone heavy with worry.

Curse? The recollection of everything that happened - the nightmare, the owl at the window, the letter, the ring, the  _pain_...it all came crashing over him like a wave.   
  
 _"Those sick bastards, tricking Virgil into thinking the cursed ring was a gift from his uncle,"_  Virgil could hear the ire in Roman's voice as he spoke.  
  
 _"It was a clever ruse on their part,"_  Logan replied.  
  
 _"That doesn't excuse what they did!"_  Roman bit back.  
  
 _"I...never said it did,"_  Logan sounded taken aback.   
  
 _"Guys, please. Arguing won't do us any good right now!"_  Patton insisted.  
  
Virgil groaned as he pushed himself up further, the noise finally alerting his friends to the fact that he was conscious.  
  
 _"Virgil! You're alright!"_  Patton grinned.  _"We were a bit worried about you there, kiddo."_  
  
 _"He's older than you are, Patton,"_  Logan frowned and adjusted his glasses before focusing in on Virgil.  _"Likewise, though, I am pleased to see the improvement in your condition. Do you recall what happened?"_  
  
Virgil nodded. "I..." He hesitated to mention the nightmare, but realized that he did not necessarily need to give away the details of said nightmare...details that seemed almost  _prophetic_  now that he was looking at them in hindsight."I had a nightmare, so I went to get a drink of water from the kitchen. Then I noticed something outside and saw this owl. I...guess looking back I should have realized something was wrong, but I was still a bit groggy so I opened up the window and took the scroll from the owl. It said it was from my uncle, so I didn't think anything of it, and..." He shuddered, trailing off.  
  
His friends stared back at him in confusion and...worry?   
  
 _"Wh...what?"_  Patton stammered.  
  
 _"What on Earth even was that, Nightmare Before Christmas?"_  Roman stared at him as if he had two heads.  
  
"What on Earth was  _what_?" Virgil stared back in confusion. He'd been clear as day about what happened, so why were they looking at him as if he were speaking gibberish?  
  
 _"Virgil...I am going to ask you again. What happened prior to my discovery of you?"_  Logan frowned, eyeing Virgil in a way that he did not like. He felt as if he was being scrutinized...and he didn't know  _why_ , which made matters even worse. It didn't help that it was his own  _boyfriend_  who was doing the scrutinizing!  
  
"Like I told you, I had a nightmare, so I started to head toward the kitch-" Virgil began, but Logan held up one hand to signal to Virgil to stop. He then retrieved his wand from the bedside table with his other hand.   
  
 _"Lumos,"_  he murmured before inching closer to Virgil. He held his wand in front of him, looking at Virgil intently.  
  
Virgil could not help but shrink back a little.  
  
 _"Virgil, I am going to move my wand back and forth, and I would like you to follow the light of my wand with your eyes,"_  Logan explained.  
  
Virgil had  _no_  idea what Logan was doing, but he did as the Ravenclaw instructed nevertheless. When Logan moved his wand to the right, Virgil's gaze followed it. He did the same when Logan moved his wand to the left. He then moved the wand downward, and upward, Virgil's eyes tracing its movements the entire time.  
  
Logan nodded, apparently satisfied, then set his wand back down.  _"Virgil, I am going to ask you a few questions. First - can you understand what I am saying to you right now?"_  
  
Virgil blinked in bewilderment. What sort of question was  _that_? "Of course I can, why wouldn't I?"  
  
Logan, however, frowned.  _"I would like you to nod if the answer is yes and shake your head if the answer is no."_  
  
Virgil arched an eyebrow. Hadn't he  _just_  said that he could? Why was Logan using the word 'if' as if he hadn't provided him with the answer he was looking for the first time around? Nevertheless, Virgil nodded - if Logan wanted him to give his assent in a  _particular_  fashion, he supposed he would go along with it.  
  
 _"I have another question for you, Virgil,"_  Logan replied, then took a deep breath as if he needed to steel himself before his next question.  _"Did you provide a verbal answer to my question prior to your nod? Again, answer this with a nod or a shake of your head."_  
  
Virgil huffed. Logan already  _knew_  the response to this, so why did he keep asking all of these weird questions? Why were Patton and Roman just  _letting_  him? What was going on? Again, he nodded his head - but only because he felt as if he had no other option. Maybe if he went along with this weird game, his friends would finally explain to him what was going on.  
  
Logan cast a concerned glance in Roman and Patton's direction. Virgil noticed for the first time just how troubled Patton and Roman looked, and it left Virgil feeling  _very_  uncomfortable - especially since the focus of their gazes seemed to be on  _him_.  
  
But he was  _fine_. Surely they could see that...right?  
  
Logan cleared his throat, drawing Virgil's attention at once. Logan's face was so pale that Virgil could feel his stomach drop but nothing, absolutely  _nothing_ , could prepare him for what he was about to hear next.  _"Virgil...I'm afraid the curse has impacted you much worse than that originally thought. Your speech...is entirely unintelligible to us, though you appear to be under the impression that you are speaking in a typical fashion..."_


	20. Chapter 20

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger warning for heavy duty panic attack, racing thoughts, and fear of dying.

Virgil reacted to this news about as well as one would expect.  
  
He'd locked himself in the bathroom and was currently trying to stave off a panic attack. His attempts were in vain. He could feel his heart pounding in his chest, and he hurriedly placed his hand under his shirt to hold over his heart. His heart was beating so fast, it felt as if it might burst out of his chest...was he going to give himself a heart attack? It was growing harder and harder to breath...shortness of breath was  _another_  sign of a heart attack. He was going to  _die_  here, and he wouldn't even be able to say goodbye to his friends because they  _couldn't understand a word that he was saying_...  
  
 _"Why are we trying to yank the door open? We're wizards, there is a spell for this,"_  he heard Logan say from the other side of the door.  
  
 _"Alohamora!"_  he heard Roman say, and the door burst open.  
  
 _"Oh Virgil,"_  Patton ran over to him at once.  _"It's okay, Virge, don't cry."_  
  
Cry? Virgil wasn't crying, he was  _dying_ , he wanted to scream for help but what good would that do when it would apparently come out as gibberish and he couldn't talk or do  _anything_...  
  
 _"Virgil, please, focus on my voice,"_  he heard Logan say.  _"What are five things you hear?"_  
  
Virgil opened his mouth to talk, but then his hand flew to his mouth as a sob forced its way out. They couldn't understand what he was saying  _anyway_ , so what did it even matter?  
  
 _"Way to go brainiac, you just made everything worse,"_  he heard Roman scold.  
  
Virgil heard a familiar sounding scoff before Logan spoke once more.  _"I want you to think of five things you hear. You don't have to say them out loud, just think them. But...if you can, would you be willing to hold up a finger every time you think of one?"_  
  
Logan was asking a lot of him, but Virgil already felt as if he'd done so much wrong...the  _least_  he could do was try to get this right. Maybe that way he wouldn't be a complete disappointment.  
  
He could hear Logan's voice, that was one. His hand felt numb and difficult to move, but he nevertheless forced one finger upward. Roman's voice was two, so he lifted another finger. The faint sound of water running...that was three, footsteps was four, his own breath was five...  
  
 _"Good, that's good Virgil, you're doing great,"_  Patton assured him.  
  
 _"Indeed, Virgil, you are doing well thus far. I want you to think of four things that you can feel - again, do not say them out loud, merely think of them, and count them off on your fingers as each come to mind."_  
  
Logan continued to lead him through this routine, taking him down to three things that he could smell, two things that he could taste, and one thing that he could see. By the time he was through, Virgil was in an improved mental state from the start of the exercise, but some action still needed to be taken to get Virgil closer to his baseline. Logan gently led him through his breathing exercises until it felt as if he could catch his breath.  
  
His thoughts were slowly becoming less and less chaotic, and he found that he could think more clearly. He wasn't dying, he was just panicking - not that he didn't have a  _reason_  to panic, and the thought of that nearly sent him into the throes of another panic attack in itself, but Logan immediately grasped Virgil's hand into his own.  _"Stay with me, Virgil. You're alright."_  
  
Alright. Right. He wasn't in any immediate danger, nor were any of his friends.  
  
He still didn't  _feel_  safe, though. He couldn't even tell his friends what was wrong because he couldn't tell them  _anything_. He could only answer yes or no questions. Virgil realized that Logan was trying to help and appreciated this, but the words felt hollow somehow - made worse by the fact that Virgil couldn't exactly argue back against Logan.  
  
 _"No he's not,"_  Patton said, approaching Virgil slowly and stopping directly in front of him. He reached out and took one of Virgil's hands into his own and gave it a squeeze.  
  
 _"Patton, I'm sure that being told that he is not alright is the last thing Virgil wants to be told right now,"_  Roman reasoned.  
  
 _"Maybe it is, but I also don't think he wants us to lie to him and pretend like everything is fine...right, Virge?"_  Patton's gaze shifted back to Virgil.  
  
Virgil bit down on his lip as he realized that Patton was asking him a question that he actually had the capability to answer. He slowly nodded.  
  
 _"Yeah, you want to reassure him that everything is fine, but that doesn't work when things aren't actually fine,"_  Patton said to Logan.  
  
 _"But he is perfectly safe here, as are we. There is no clear and present danger..."_  Logan began to explain.  
  
Patton cut him off.  _"Danger? No, there's no physical danger. But he can't talk, Logan, and he could talk just fine yesterday. That's scary, and he has every right to be scared. Wouldn't you be scared if something like that happened to you?"_  He turned his attention back to Virgil once more.  _"It's okay to be scared, I'd be scared too...but you're not alone, and we'll do everything we can to listen to what you have to say, however you say it."_  
  
Virgil chewed on his lip as fresh tears began to track their way down his cheeks. The others eyed him apprehensively - even Patton, who feared that he might have made things  _worse_  with his commentary - until Virgil threw his arms around Patton and began to sob into his shoulder.  
  
Virgil wasn't sure how Patton did it, but somehow Patton  _knew_. He didn't want to be told that everything was alright, because everything was  _not_  alright. He couldn't communicate with his friends the way that he wanted to, the way that he was  _used_  to, and that made him scared and confused and frustrated. That wasn't  _alright_  by any stretch of the imagination, and no matter how many times his friends repeated that it was, it was not going to change how Virgil felt.  
  
Patton recognized that. He recognized that pretending the issue wasn't there and wasn't weighing on him wasn't going to make things better. Even though Virgil could not communicate in the fashion that he was used to, Patton was the first to tell him that he was actually willing to  _listen_  to him - and that meant the world to him at this point in time. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I feel like I should warn you guys not too get too comfortable too soon with things... >.> <.<


	21. Chapter 21

A visit to St. Mungo's provided little in the way of results.   
  
 _"We have tried several countercurses and antidotes, but thus far nothing has worked. I am sorry,"_  the Head Healer told them after a battery of different spells and potions.  _"We will continue looking into the ring to see if we can find anything, but I'm afraid this is all we can do at this point in time."_  
  
They'd even presented St. Mungo's with the cursed ring in the hopes that in might help (everyone careful not to touch it with their bare skin in the event that the curse was still active), but it didn't look like they were any closer to fixing what was happening with Virgil.  
  
On the bright side, he didn't seem to be getting any worse. On the other hand, he didn't seem to be getting any  _better_  either.  
  
The one upside to their visit to St. Mungo's was that they could easily make their way down the hall to visit Astrit rather than make a separate trip at a later time.   
  
Era, Astrit, and Chelsea greeted them as they entered through the door. Logan, Patton, and Roman greeted Era, Astrit, and Chelsea in return. Virgil raised his hand and waved.  
  
 _"You alright?"_  Era asked, eyeing him.  
  
Virgil opened his mouth to respond before closing it again. It was second nature to   _reply verbally_  when someone asked him a question, but he knew that such an endeavor would be fruitless.  It would come out sounding like gibberish to anyone else, despite the fact that he could clearly hear what he wanted to say in his head. He shook his head in response.  
  
 _"We heard about what happened,"_  Chelsea admitted.  
  
Virgil knew that Era and Chelsea were concerned for him, but he couldn't help but bristle a little at the pity in their voice. He plopped into a chair at Astrit's bedside and folded his arms across his chest.   
  
 _"Hey,"_  Astrit whispered quietly.  
  
Virgil gave Astrit a slight salute in greeting.  
  
 _"I'm guessing they weren't able to treat what's going on?"_ Chelsea said with a frown. Virgil began to shake his head, but realized that Chelsea wasn't looking at him when she asked that question - she was looking at Logan, Roman, and Patton.  
  
Logan shook his head.  _"No, they were not. They attempted the use of many countercurses and antidotes, but none of them had the desired effect on Virgil's speech."_  
  
 _"That's too bad. How is he taking it?"_  Era asked.  
  
He?  _He?_  
  
 _"Not very well, as one would expect,"_  Roman admitted.   
  
Virgil cast a glare in Roman's direction for answering  _for_  him, but it went unnoticed - Of course.

 _"In fact, he had a panic attack,"_  Logan confessed.  
  
That...why would Logan just  _tell_  them something like that without a second thought? Tell them that he was upset, yes, but...  
  
No, actually, Logan  _didn't_  need to tell them that Virgil was upset. He could do that well enough himself. Just because he couldn't speak in his typical fashion did not mean that he could not communicate  _period_.  
  
Era's hand flew to her mouth.  _"That's terrible! I mean, I can understand why, but...that must be so scary. I can hardly imagine..."_  A shudder went through her, and her eyes misted over which of course made sense - Being silenced was shown to be one of her worst fears by the boggart, and here Virgil was  _facing_  her worst fear. She fell silent, and seemed to shrink in on herself.  
  
 _"I know, I can hardly imagine it either,"_  Roman shuddered. Had Virgil been able to, he would have probably made a sarcastic comment about how it might do Roman some  _good_  to shut his big mouth every once in a while.  
  
The slight arch of his eyebrow accompanied by the slightest of smirks creeping its way onto his features, in fact, might have given this away...if anyone was even glancing in his direction, that is.  
  
 _"Is there anything we can do to help?"_  Chelsea inquired.  
  
Virgil sat up a little at this. They were asking if there was anything they could do to help. He could already think of a couple of things that he might suggest. Patton opened his mouth, and Virgil smiled. There we go. Patton knew they needed to listen to him yesterday, so Patton would tell Chelsea to ask  _him_  rather than Roman, Logan, and Patton, and Virgil would finally be able to answer for himself...  
  
 _"I would suggest being patient with him,"_  Patton began, and Virgil's heart dropped.  _"He gets frustrated easily, so..."_  
  
Frustrated easily? Of course he got frustrated easily. He wasn't even being permitted to speak for himself! With a huff, Virgil rose to his feet, kicking his chair out of the way as he walked toward the door. It was the sound of the chair bumping against the wall that finally drew his friends' attention, and by then it was  _far_  too late.  
  
 _"Virgil, kiddo, are you alright?"_  Patton eyed him concernedly.  
  
He eyed a flyer taped up to the wall, grabbing it immediately. He turned it over to the blank white backside of the paper. He then grabbed a pen from Logan's shirt pocket, causing Logan to gasp in surprise. But Virgil didn't care about  _any_  of that at this point. He just cared about getting his message across.   
  
Funny, they sure seemed to be paying attention to him now, and all it took was his kicking a chair against a wall.  
  
He then crumpled up the piece of paper before anyone could read what it said and threw it at the opposite wall before storming out of the room.  
  
The others were so surprised that no one really knew what to do next. Should they follow him? Did he want to be alone?  
  
 _"What...what does the note say?"_  Patton broke through the silence at last.   
  
Logan reached for the note, which landed closest to his feet after its ricochet off of the opposite wall. He gingerly unfolded the sheet of paper. His eyes skimmed over it a few times before he let out a sigh, looking almost...ashamed?  _"I'm going to go talk to him. You may follow me if you wish, or you may stay here."_  
  
He folded the note back up and set it down before hurrying out of the room and down the hall in the direction they'd seen Virgil head in.  
  
 _"What does it say, Patton?"_  Roman questioned, as Patton was now the closest to the note in question.   
  
Patton unfolded the note, but this time, he read what it said out loud for the others.  _"I-If you guys are just going...going to answer for m-me, I might as well not even...not even be here,"_  he read in a trembling voice.


	22. Chapter 22

Virgil didn't plan to make it easy for his friends to find him.  
  
Admittedly, he wasn't doing it  _specifically_  to spite them - he just didn't see the point of sticking around when his friends weren't going to pay any attention to him and the Healers at St. Mungo's could not do anything for him.  
  
So he left St. Mungo's  _entirely_. He stopped in front of the Leaky Cauldron with his hands in his pockets. His initial plan was to go back to the room that he shared with Logan. As he glanced up and down Diagon Alley, however, another idea took root within his mind. He continued down Diagon Alley, determination on his face as he set off for a new destination.  
  
That was how he wound up standing outside the door to his mother's flat. It would be so easy for Virgil to knock on the door to alert Renilda to his presence, but leave it to  _Virgil_  to be overwhelmed by doubts right at his mother's doorstep. He ought to turn around and go back to the Leaky Cauld-  
  
No. Virgil came here for a reason, and he wasn't just going to turn around and walk away. Summoning what courage he could, Virgil knocked at Renilda's door.  
  
He heard footsteps on the other side. Renilda pulled open the door, her eyes going wide in her surprise.  _"Virgil? I...wasn't expecting you! That isn't to say that I'm not happy to see you, I just...I'm surprised Logan's not with you! I thought you were staying with Logan?"_  
  
Virgil shrugged in what he hoped appeared to be a nonchalant way.   
  
 _"I'm so glad you could drop by...how is Astrit doing? Would you like anything to eat or drink? Tea, maybe?"_  Renilda headed to the kitchen, immediately beginning to rummage around.  
  
Virgil frowned. Renilda might have accepted his shrug as a response to her question about Logan, but how was he going to respond to her other questions? He supposed he could write down his answers, but then his mother would inevitably ask why he was  _writing_  instead of talking, and then he would have to explain...  
  
...why had he come here again?  
  
 _"Virgil?"_  Virgil turned at the sound of his name. Renilda was staring at him with a frown.  _"I asked if you wanted any hot chocolate."_  
  
Now  _that_  was a question that he could answer - something that managed to coax a small smile out of him despite...well,  _everything_. Renilda seemed satisfied too, and set to work on the hot chocolate. Virgil contented himself to watching his mother work, and it seemed as if hardly any time passed before his mother brought over two steaming cups of hot chocolate, handing one over to her son.  
  
"Thank you," Virgil said without thinking as he took the cup.  
  
Renilda blinked a few times as a puzzled look crossed her face.  _"What?"_  
  
Instead of answer his mother's question, Virgil brought the cup to his lips, taking a long swig...only to immediately spit the contents of his mouth back out. Hot, hot, that was  _way_  too hot.  
  
 _"Virgil, are you okay?"_  Renilda set her own cup down. She rose to her feet and headed back to the kitchen, returning with a napkin that she handed Virgil. Virgil immediately used the napkin to dab not only at his face but at the various places the hot chocolate he spit out landed. The more he concentrated on this, the less he would have to focus on his own idiocy...  
  
 _"Virgil, you've dabbed at that spot for the past two minutes now. I can tell something is wrong..."_  Renilda murmured quietly.  
  
Virgil pushed himself to his feet, making his way toward the kitchen. He pulled open a drawer next to the stove, knowing that his mother kept weird odds and ends in there. He found a small pad of paper as well as a pen, and returned to the table - and to his mother eyeing him in confusion.  
  
 _I can't talk,_  Virgil quickly jotted out, turning the pad so that his mother could read it.  
  
His mother, if anything, looked even more puzzled at that.  _"What do you mean?"_  
  
 _Cursed,_  Virgil wrote in reply.  
  
Renilda's hand flew to her mouth at once.  _"Cursed? You were...ugh, it was those damned associates of your father, wasn't it?"_  she growled before letting out a string of curse words - pun not intended - the likes of which Virgil had  _never_ heard from his mother in his eighteen years of life. He was fairly certain that he hadn't heard a number of these words  _ever_.  
  
Even if Virgil  _could_  speak intelligibly, he would have been left speechless by that display.  
  
Renilda's cheeks turned a faint shade of red as she realized that Virgil not only bore witness to what she'd just done but was now  _staring_  at her.  _"I...apologize, I'm not sure what came over me there."_  
  
Virgil shrugged, writing something else onto the paper before turning it for his mother to see once more.  _It's okay mum, let it all out._  The corners of his mouth twitched upward slightly.  
  
 _"Are you entirely sure you want me to do that?"_  Renilda arched her eyebrow in response.  _"You might not be able to handle it."_  
  
Virgil was outright smirking at this point.  _Try me,_  he wrote, egging his mother on.  
  
And thus it started. Virgil and Renilda took turns, each trying to one up the other with insults and disparaging comments directed toward Linus and the Council. Renilda did catch Virgil by surprise on a few occasions, though he undoubtedly did the same to her.  
  
By the time the two were done, they were both laughing so hard that they were having a difficult time catching their breath. Even when he was finally able to regain his composure, Virgil still grinned from ear to ear. Renilda looked similarly pleased with herself - and relieved?  
  
Virgil had to admit that he felt relieved too. It didn't solve his problems, nor did it get rid of the threat that the Council clearly posed, but boy did it feel  _good_  to get some of that pent up anger out of his system.   
  
A knock on the door distracted mother and son, and Renilda immediately furrowed her brow and made her way toward the door.  _"I'm not expecting anyone, I wonder who that could be?"_    
  
She pulled the door open to reveal Logan, Roman, and Patton standing in the doorway.  
  
Virgil's grin fell at once.


	23. Chapter 23

Were Virgil able to do so, he would have instructed his mother to close the door. Instead, he merely level a glare against his boyfriend and two of his best friends before turning where he stood and heading for his room.  
  
 _"Virgil wait!"_  he heard Patton call out, but he paid no heed. He closed the door to his room behind him.  
  
He retrieved his wand from his pocket and pointed it at the bookshelf that housed some of his old schoolbooks. "Accio!" He called out, briefly confused when nothing happened - but then he recalled what was happening with his speech and let out a hefty sigh.  
  
This...this was impacting even his  _magic_  now. He could already feel his heart rate begin to increase. His thoughts threatened to spiral out of control - where would he be without his  _magic_  - when a wonderous realization hit him.  
  
Spoken word was not necessary for magic.  
  
It was easier to use magic with a verbal incantation, but it wasn't  _necessary_ , and he knew this because they'd already practiced a number of nonverbal spells at Hogwarts as part of their NEWT curriculum.  
  
He also knew that starting with Accio would be setting himself up for failure - and that was the  _last_ thing he needed at this point in time. He needed spells he knew he could cast nonverbally because he'd cast them nonverbally in the past, before all of this happened. He closed his eyes and thought  _Lumos!_ , picturing the end of his wand lighting up. A telltale glow from the other side of his eyelids made his heart leap, and his eyes snapped open at once.  
  
His smile was as bright as the light shining from the other end of his wand. He could still use magic.

He heard voices coming from the other side of the door - and the voices were moving closer. Virgil contemplated casting a locking charm on the door, but before he could cast the spell in his mind, the door was already open and Logan, Roman, and Patton stepped inside.  
  
 _Nox,_  Virgil thought, and the light at the end of his wand faded.  
  
Roman's eyes lit up at that.  _"That's amazing, you can still do magic even though you can't talk!"_  
  
 _"Of course he can, we have studied nonverbal spells as part of our NEWT curriculum,"_  Logan explained.  
  
Virgil rolled his eyes and folded his arms across his chest.  
  
Patton stepped forward and cleared his throat.  _"Virgil, we...owe you an apology."_  
  
Virgil kept his arms crossed, but his gaze softened the  _slightest_  bit. It wasn't much, but it was a start.

 _"We thought we were helping,"_  Patton explained, and Virgil arched his eyebrow at that.   
  
 _"We_  were  _helping - it's not like you could answer any of Chelsea and Era's questions yourself,"_ Roman reasoned.  
  
Virgil's eyebrow went up even further.  
  
 _"He could though - he showcased that when he grabbed that flyer off of the wall and wrote a message to us. He can communicate through writing,"_  Logan countered.  _"Whatever curse that ring may have carried, it seems to be impacting only his..."_  Logan paused, realizing his error and hastily correcting himself. He turned to Virgil,  _"...your speech."_  
  
Huh. They were actually taking what he said into consideration after all. It was one thing to apologize, it was another to actually course correct one's actions to make up for any mistakes that they made. Thus far, Logan was making great strides in that direction.  
  
 _"We should have looked to you first before answering any questions for you...asked you if you even_  wanted  _us too. We really did think we were helping, but we were telling Chelsea and Era how we assumed you felt - not how you actually felt. We...I failed y-"_  
  
 _"Patton,"_  Logan interrupted him in an even tone.  
  
Patton glanced upward at Logan in confusion. Logan gestured to Virgil, who was holding his hand up in a clear gesture to stop. Virgil reached over and grabbed another pad of paper and another pen, jotting out a quick message and holding it up for Patton to read.  
  
 _You didn't fail me,_  it read.   
  
 _"I did though, Virge,"_  Patton continued on.  _"I told you that we'd listen to you, and then we didn't. We talked for you. We didn't even allow you a chance to talk for yourself, or to confirm that you wanted us to explain things for you. I didn't keep my promise to you."_  
  
Next to Patton, comprehension began to dawn on Roman's features. 

 _"We...we'll try to do better. We're sorry, Virgil,"_  Roman admitted at last.  
  
Virgil managed a small smile in their direction. He wasn't so naive as to believe that his friends would get it right every time. He didn't  _expect_  his friends to be perfect - they were navigating new waters with this just as much as he was. But they made it clear that they understood where they'd gone wrong and would at least put in effort not to repeat the same mistake that they did before, and that was all Virgil wanted at this point in time. 

 _"So how do you want us to approach this whole...talking thing?"_  Logan questioned.

Virgil grinned and shook his head before he wrote down his answer.  _Don't automatically assume you know what I'm going to say. Think you can manage?_

 _"Well I'd say we can certainly do better than we have in the past,"_ Logan confirmed.

 _"Agreed, and I swear on my honor as a Gryffindor that it will not happen again!"_ Roman declared.

Virgil let out a snort before quickly jotting something down and turning it toward Roman with a smirk.  _Extra_ , the pad read.

Roman huffed and folded his arms at that, but the corners of his mouth tugged upward showing that he hadn't taken it  _too_ terribly.

(Of course, the fact that it was  _true_ and might even be considered a badge of pride for Roman to be considered 'extra' probably helped.)

  
 _"Is there anything else can do to help you right now?"_ Patton asked, eyeing Virgil closely.  
  
Virgil quickly scribbled something out. _I'm good for now. Let's head back to the L.C._

 _"The L.C.?"_ Logan read aloud in confusion.

 _"The Leaky Cauldron,"_ Roman deduced with a chuckle and a nod toward Virgil.  _"Why write it all out if you don't have to?"_

Virgil shot Roman a thumbs up.


	24. Chapter 24

Virgil, Logan, Patton, and Roman made their way back to the Leaky Cauldron, but only after bidding farewell to Renilda  _and_  promising that they would stop by to visit again soon.  
  
 _"Your mum's really nice, Virge,"_  Patton told Virgil with a smile.  
  
 _"She's certainly a lot better than your_  other  _parent we had the misfortune of meeting,"_  Roman added.  
  
Virgil could not help but snort at that. He would have said more, but they were still walking back to the Leaky Cauldron and Virgil didn't think that his friends would be too happy if they had to stop every minute or so to let Virgil write out his response to his friends' comments before they continued on their way.  
  
Needless to say, he wholeheartedly agreed with Roman's assessment of his parents - both that Renilda was a good mother and that Linus was not only a terrible father but a terrible  _person_.  
  
By the time they arrived at the Leaky Cauldron, Roman and Patton bid them farewell and headed to their room. Virgil and Logan, meanwhile, entered the room they shared. Virgil sighed and flopped down on the bed.  
  
 _"It's been an eventful day, hasn't it?"_  Logan observed.  
  
Virgil let out a heavy sigh.  
  
 _"I'm glad that you were able to determine that you could still use your magic,"_  Logan commented.  
  
Virgil sat up at that. He reached into his robes, where he'd pocketed the notepad and pen he'd used to respond to his friends earlier.  _Good thing they taught us nonverbal spells at school,_  he wrote down.

Logan furrowed his brow. Virgil recognized this instantly as a sign that Logan was contemplating something.  _"I can't help but wonder how many nonverbal spells you tested?"_  
  
Virgil hastily jotted down his response.  _Just Lumos and Nox._  
  
 _"Lumos and Nox. Perhaps you could try casting a few others? Just to give yourself an idea of where you're at,"_  Logan mused.  
  
Virgil swallowed. While he enjoyed the idea of being able to cast  _all_  of the same spells nonverbally, casting a spell without the verbal incantation was admittedly more difficult than simply using the incantation. From what Virgil could tell,  _all_  spells could be cast nonverbally with the right amount of practice and skill, but incantations were shortcuts that made spellcasting easier than it would be otherwise - which explained why nonverbal spellcasting was reserved for NEWT level students.  
  
However, this  _also_  meant that Virgil only practiced nonverbal spellcasting with  _easier_  spells, the likes of which they were taught in their first few years at Hogwarts.  
  
Virgil felt relief wash over him earlier, when he successful cast both Lumos and Nox nonverbally. Now that relief was slowing shifting back into dread as Virgil came to the realization that he was not without his magic...but that his ability to  _utilize_  his magic could be significantly reduce at this point in time.  
  
That...wasn't good. Not while the Council was still out there, and most  _certainly_  not when a long deceased dark wizard quite possibly gained new life at their hands.  
  
 _"Virgil?"_  
  
Hearing Logan say his name drew Virgil from his increasingly frantic thoughts - a blessing in disguise, considering.  
  
Rather than reply with a verbal 'what?', Virgil opted to arch one eyebrow upward in a way that he hoped would convey the same message toward Logan.  
  
Presumably it did, as Logan hastened to respond.  _"Would you care to try a few spells to see how well you can cast them nonverbally?"_  
  
He did, admittedly, want to see where he stood in terms of his magic, but he was also  _terrified_  to do so. What if the results confirmed his fears, that he would be able to cast nothing more than elementary charms - or even worse,  _merely_  the two charms that he cast earlier?

But Logan was still staring at him expectantly, clearly waiting for some sort of response, and Virgil did not want to disappoint. So he took a deep breath and summoned as much courage as he could muster before retrieving his wand from his pocket. He pointed to Logan's wand, hoping that Logan would reach for it in curiosity.  
  
It took a moment or so, but Logan lifted his wand with a puzzled expression after Virgil continued to gesture toward it.  
  
Virgil took another deep breath. He'd done this a couple of times in class. He knew he was capable of doing it. He'd done it before. The fact that it was the  _only_  way he could cast the spell at the moment should have no bearing on his ability to do so when he could do it just fine before.

He pointed his wand at Logan and thought  _Expelliarmus!_.  
  
Nothing happened.  
  
Virgil's eyes widened slightly, and he attempted to cast the spell once more. Then once more after that. He grew more and more frantic with each failed attempt. He couldn't even cast the disarming spell. He was useless. He had the magic prowess of an  _eleven or twelve year old_. He...  
  
 _"Virgil. Stay with me. You can do this. You know you can do this. You've done it before. Be certain to focus on the effects of the spell as you cast it. Now try again,"_  Logan instructed.  
  
Virgil took a deep breath and imagined Logan's wand soaring out of his hand, all the while thinking  _Expelliarmus!_  
  
Logan's wand twitched slightly, but remained firmly within his grasp.  
  
Virgil began to chew on his bottom lip.  
  
 _"You can do this, Virgil. You have done it before. I witnessed it myself. Focus on the effects of the spell,"_  Logan urged him.  
  
Virgil took a shaky breath and pointed his wand at Logan once more. He pictured Logan's wand soaring out of his hand, Logan scrambling to catch it as it flew toward Virgil. He pictured Logan's smiling face at his success. He made the motion with his wand. This time, he forewent the incantation itself, opting to put all of his focus on Logan's wand flying out of his hand.  
  
Then, he watched his intent become reality. Logan's wand surged out of his hand, flying toward Virgil, who caught it with his outstretched free hand. Virgil turned Logan's wand over in his hand, as if he needed to observe every nook and cranny of Logan's wand before he could convince himself that he actually succeeded.  
  
Then he looked at Logan and grinned.  
  
 _"See? I knew you could do it, you've done it before,"_  Logan smiled back.  
  
That did not mean that transitioning his magic to a new form of spellcasting would be easy, but it was not as  _impossible_  as he originally thought it might be. And, if Virgil had to be honest? He was happy that he had the teacher that he did. Logan would make a good professor, if he chose to follow that path.


	25. Chapter 25

Virgil awoke to Logan sitting in a chair near the window, peering outside. Virgil sat up, blinking the sleep out of his eyes. "Whatcha doing over there, L?"  
  
Logan turned to him and tilted his head.  _"Come again?"_  
  
"Whatcha...oh, right," Virgil muttered as Logan continued to look puzzled, recalling the curse. He reached for the pad and paper that rested on the night table beside his side of the bed, writing out what he'd attempted to say earlier and holding it up so that Logan could read.  
  
 _"Oh...I was just thinking,"_  Logan said with a frown, returning to gazing out the window.  
  
 _Thinking? About what?_  Virgil jotted out his response before turning it so that Logan could read.

 _"About a certain ability of yours and the effects this curse may have upon it,"_  Logan replied.  
  
Virgil climbed out of bed and joined Logan at the table, pulling up a chair of his own.  _My Sight?_ , he guessed.  
  
Logan nodded.  _"Yes, your Sight."_  
  
 _How would the curse affect that? It affects my speech,_  Virgil scribbled out in his confusion.  
  
 _"Yes, it does - need I remind you how prophecies are given?"_  Logan inquired.  
  
Virgil's eyes widened as he realized what Logan was getting at. He would still be able to give prophecies - Logan wasn't questioning that part, and neither was Virgil. But would his prophecies be affected by the curse as well?  
  
 _Who knows, maybe the curse will make it so the prophecies make_  more  _sense,_  he wrote out with a sardonic smile.  
  
Logan let out a chuckle at that.  _"I suppose that is one possibility we could consider. I find it more likely that your prophecies will either be unaffected, or will be rendered into something resembling the gibberish that your curse has turned your speech into."_  
  
Virgil frowned, Logan's comment making him consider something he had not before.  _Is it actually gibberish?_  
  
Logan blinked in surprise.  _"Well, the rest of us can make little sense of what you are saying, nor do your speech patterns or words match any language that I can immediately recognize."_  
  
 _But can it be translated?_  Virgil responded.  
  
 _"As I said, it does not resemble any language that I know of,"_  Logan repeated.  
  
 _Doesn't mean it can't be translated,_  Virgil retorted.  
  
Logan paused, stopping to consider what Virgil was actually saying now that Virgil was presenting him with more to contemplate.

 _"I believe I understand what you are trying to say,"_  Logan began.  _"You are not suggesting that the curse has shifted your speech to a recognizable language, but rather a unique syntax all own?"_  
  
 _Kinda,_  Virgil wrote in reply.  
  
 _"That is an intriguing theory, and one I would like to explore in depth if you do not mind,"_  Logan admitted.  
  
Virgil snorted and hastily wrote out his response.  _If I minded I wouldn't have brought it up in the first place._  
  
It was easy to discuss the  _idea_  of testing their theory out. Coming up with the actual tests? That would be considerably more difficult.

Logan glanced down at the paper Virgil wrote on, his eyes slowly widening. The Slytherin could practically see the lightbulb light up over Logan's head.  
  
That left him curious. Virgil tapped his pen impatiently against the top of the table as he awaited Logan's commentary.

 _"You are able to communicate statements to us utilizing a paper and pen. I propose that we have you write certain words and phrases after you attempt to say them verbally,"_  Logan explained.  
  
 _What will that do?_  Virgil replied, arching his eyebrow skeptically.  
  
 _"The goal is to see if the same words come across in the same fashion every time, or whether it is entirely random,"_  Logan replied.  _"It is quite possible that what you are speaking is not gibberish at all, but rather a unique language all its own, and this is one way we can test that hypothesis."_  
  
Logan looked so excited that Virgil could not help but smile in spite of himself. It  _did_  sound promising, but...  
  
What if it didn't work? What if Virgil truly  _was_  speaking gibberish at the effects of this curse? What if his ability to write was eventually affected? What if things continued to get worse until Virgil could not communicate  _at all_?  
  
That was an utterly horrifying thought, and Virgil bit down on his lip to keep any trouble noises from escaping.  
  
Then, there was the other side of the equation - the one that Virgil  _preferred_  to focus on, the one that rendered not only his fears but Logan's experiment as being all for naught.  
  
He jumped on this theory as soon as it presented itself.  _Why bother?_ , he jotted down. Logan's smile immediately fell upon reading that.  
  
 _"What do you mean? It is integral that we find out how this curse is affecting you,"_  Logan frowned.  
  
 _But once we find the counter curse none of it will matter,_  Virgil replied.  
  
Logan's frown deepened, and he subconsciously reached for his collar and tugged on his tie.  _"Virgil, I think you need to consider..."_  
  
 _So why bother?_  Virgil continued.  
  
 _"Virgil...we, and St. Mungo's, are doing everything we can to find a counter curse. However, I feel you need to consider the possibility that a counter curse may never be found,"_  Logan said at last.  _"We need to work with what we have."_  
  
It was hard to argue with that sort of logic. The only issue was, Virgil absolutely  _needed_  that denial to keep his ever racing thoughts at bay. As Logan fought back against every defense Virgil was putting up, it grew harder and harder to stave off the ever growing feeling that things were not only not going to get better, but could potentially get  _so much_  worse. He began to chew on his bottom lip, harder and harder the more Logan chipped away at the walls Virgil put up.  
  
Logan, to his credit, seemed to realize this and backed away once he noticed.  _"I'm not saying that we won't find a counter curse, do not misunderstand me. I just think we need to be prepared in the event that..."_  he trailed off, letting out a sigh.  _"The Council wishes to silence you. This curse makes that frustratingly clear. Our job is to not allow them to succeed at this endeavor. We currently have tools at our disposal - let's utilize them."_  
  
Virgil blinked. It was easy to up and give up out of frustration for the state that he was in. But Logan chose to phrase it in a way that presented the Council's end goal - to silence him.  
  
Why play directly into their hands? Hadn't he done that enough already?  
  
No, he would  _not_  play directly into their hands. He would fight back in whatever way he possibly could - even by doing something as small as participating in Logan's experiment.  
  
The experiment would have to come later, though. A knock on the door caused Virgil to jolt, and Logan to glance toward the door at once.  _"It's probably Patton and Roman, they informed me that they might stop by,"_  Logan murmured as he made his way over to the door.  
  
He heard Logan's surprised voice over at the door, followed by the voices of Roman and Patton. Virgil let out a snicker. Why did Logan sound so surprised? Hadn't he  _just_  informed Virgil that Patton and Roman mentioned stopping by earlier?  
  
These voices, however, were joined by another voice. And another.  _And another._  
  
Virgil's gaze shot toward the door at once.  
  
Patton and Roman stepped inside, followed thereafter by Era, Chelsea, and  _Astrit_.

 


	26. Chapter 26

The seven teenagers each found different places to sit in the room. Virgil and Logan returned to their seats at the table near the window. Chelsea, Era, and Astrit sat at the edge of the bed. Roman and Patton each took a seat on the floor. 

  
Virgil noted the continued improvement in Astrit's condition. The Gryffindor steadily grew better while he was at St. Mungo's as well, but outside of a hospital it was more evident how much  _better_  Astrit was doing in comparison to his arrival at St. Mungo's. His skin was clearer, his eyes were brighter, the various injuries he'd obtained were reduced to mostly scars, and best of all, he no longer appeared malnourished.

  
 _"I'm glad to see that you are officially out of St. Mungo's, Astrit,"_ Logan told the fifth year.  
  
Astrit grinned.  _"So am I. But..."_  his grin fell.  
  
Virgil frowned. But what? What would bring about such an abrupt shift in Astrit's attitude.  
  
Era glanced over at Astrit with a frown of her own. Virgil was startled to find that Chelsea looked as if she were about to cry. What on Earth was going on? What did Chelsea, Era, and Astrit know that Virgil, Logan, Roman, and Patton clearly did not?  
  
 _"Our parents want us to return home,"_  Era admitted.  
  
 _"Home?"_  Patton asked.  _"You mean..."_  
  
 _"Albania, yes,"_  Era replied.  
  
 _"But they can't do that! If it weren't for everything that happened you would still be at Hogwarts, so why can't you stay in the UK now?"_  Roman protested.  
  
 _"We're not at Hogwarts,"_  Astrit replied.  
  
 _"Well duh, it would be silly to go back to Hogwarts now after how much we've missed. Especially Virgil and Astrit,"_  Chelsea admitted.  
  
 _"And yes, they kinda_  can  _do that, Roman. They're our parents,"_ Era retorted.  
  
 _"But you're of age! You turned eighteen in November!"_  Roman countered.  
  
Era arched a brow at that.  _"And Astrit just turned sixteen, so he's not of age. And...you're not taking one thing into consideration. What if we at least partially want to go back?"_  
  
Era might as well have slapped Roman across the face if his expression was any indication.  _"I...why...wouldn't you want to stay with us?"_  
  
Virgil understood where Roman was coming from. Roman could not understand why Era and Astrit would want to return home with their parents, because he looked  _forward_  to leaving his parents every time he left for Hogwarts growing up, and now he'd been literally  _disowned_  by them. His true family was at Hogwarts.  
  
Era and Astrit, on the other hand, clearly shared a much more healthy relationship with their family.  
  
 _"It's not a done deal,"_  Astrit admitted.  
  
Era turned to look at him in surprise.  _"But babi said..."_  
  
 _"Babi did not say we_  had  _to return home, he just assumed that we would,"_  Astrit replied.  
  
Era shuffled a little where she sat, clearly uncomfortable.  
  
 _"If you want to go home, Era, we'll go home. Whatever we do, we will do it together,"_  Astrit assured her.  
  
 _"You want to stay,"_  Era said. It was not a question.  
  
It was Astrit's turn to shuffle in his spot.  _"I don't think it's right to leave right now. Not with everything that's happening."_  
  
 _"Your ancestor's return?"_  Era asked.  
  
Astrit nodded.  _"We can't leave now. If he is alive, he used my blood to bring himself back to life. Stands to reason that I would be one of the best equipped to stop him."_  
  
Era gasped in outrage.  _"Because he used your blood? Astrit, that's..."_  
  
 _"A possibility I had not considered, but well reasoned. Good job, Astrit,"_  Logan replied.  
  
 _"Well reasoned? How is that well reasoned?"_  Era countered.  
  
Virgil had to admit that he was curious as well - though he also knew Logan well enough to realize that Logan would doubtlessly have a good argument to back up his point.  
  
Sure enough, Logan cleared his throat and adjusted his tie.  _"Blood magic has a well-deserved reputation in the wizarding world. It is indeed a powerful force, and Astrit is correct - the fact that Dalibor utilized his blood to come back to life, if he did indeed resurrect himself, suggests a connection between Astrit and Dalibor aside from their familial ties that cannot be ignored."_  
  
 _"So? What are you suggesting, we throw Astrit at Dalibor? That's my little brother you're talking about. I know you can't comprehend what a bond like that is like since you're an only child, but I'm not just going to leave Astrit to the wolves,"_  Era snarled.  
  
Logan looked taken aback.  _"That is not what I was suggesting at all."_  
  
 _"Then what were you suggesting?"_  Era fired back.  
  
 _"I was merely corroborating Astrit's earlier statement,"_  Logan replied.  
  
Astrit cleared his throat, drawing everyone's attention to him.  _"I want to stay."_  
  
Era immediately opened her mouth to protest, but fell silent when Astrit shot her a pleading look.  _"I know it's dangerous,"_  he told her.  _"But I'm not going to run away. I don't want to run away. You'd do the same if you were in my position, Era, and you know it."_  
  
Era's mouth snapped shut at that. Virgil had to resist the urge he had to chuckle at that. From what he knew of Era, she very much  _would_  elect to make the same decision as Astrit if their roles were switched.

...but on the flip side, Astrit was not only Era's younger brother but her best friend. It stood to reason why Era would not want Astrit to make such a decision - She did not want him to throw himself into danger just because he might hold the best shot of bringing down Dalibor.  
  
 _"I think we need to discuss this with babi,"_  Era said at last.   
  
Astrit nodded in agreement.  _"I think that would probably be for the best."_  
  
The two siblings rose to their feet and made their way toward the door.  
  
Only time would tell what their final decision would be, but they might soon find that factors outside of their control might come to influence their decisions.


	27. Chapter 27

Virgil stood in front of the mirror in the bathroom, putting the final touches on his eyeliner before heading back out to the main room that he shared with Logan.   
  
Era and Astrit never returned after their departure the night before. Chelsea, Roman, and Patton eventually went back to their respective rooms as it grew later and later.  
  
Virgil wasn't sure how to take this - or even which outcome he was hoping for. Having to bid farewell to Astrit and Era would be terrible, but he could understand Era's arguments for going home as well. Virgil, Logan, Roman, Patton, and Chelsea couldn't make them stay if they did not want to -  _Home_  was in Albania. It was easier for Virgil, Logan, Roman, Patton, and Chelsea as they all lived in the UK. Hell, Renilda's flat was literally  _just down the road_  from where they were staying now. Asking Era and Astrit to stay when home - and their parents - would be in an entirely different  _country_  was asking a lot out of them.  
  
He could understand why the discussion took a long time, and why Era and Astrit likely decided it was too late to meet up with their friends after they finished talking with their parents.  
  
 _"We ought to head down and grab a bite to eat,"_  Logan remarked as Virgil came out of the bathroom. Virgil nodded, grabbing his hoodie and quickly throwing it on over his shirt. He didn't feel like dressing up in his robes just to head downstairs.

Virgil and Logan made their way out of their room and headed down to the pub portion of the Leaky Cauldron to grab a bite to eat. They both glanced around to see if any of the others made it down yet, but there was no sign of any of them. Roman, Patton, Era, Astrit, and Chelsea were still in their rooms by the looks of it.

Virgil and Logan made their way to a table that would seat eight. That way, when and if the others came to join them, there would be seats for everyone (plus one extra). Virgil and Logan flipped through the menus. It was decided that Virgil would point out to Logan what he wanted to eat and Logan would do the ordering. That way, they would avoid any unnecessary questions about why Virgil needed to use a notepad to write out his order. He did still have his notepad on him, he just preferred not to use it to order if other options were available.  
  
Shortly after Logan relayed their orders to a waiter, Roman and Patton came to join them.  
  
 _"Greetings ladies, lords, and non-binary royalty!"_  Roman announced loudly. Virgil had his back to them, which meant that Roman's outburst was Virgil's first indication that Roman and Patton were approaching. Virgil nearly fell out of his seat in surprise.  
  
 _"Whoa, careful there Virge,"_  Patton warned as he took the seat across from Virgil. Roman, meanwhile, took the seat across from Logan, leaving four chairs at the other end of the table in the event that Chelsea, Era, and Astrit came to join them.  
  
Virgil hoped they would. Otherwise they might get in trouble for using a table for eight for a party of four. They could only use the excuse that they were waiting for their friends to arrive for so long...  
  
 _"No sign of Era, Astrit, and Chelsea?"_  Roman frowned, gesturing to the empty chairs.  
  
Virgil shook his head, biting back the urge to reply with a snarky comment and instead jotting it out and turning his notepad for Roman to read.  _Get with the times, Roman. They're wearing invisibility cloaks. It's the latest fashion._    
  
Roman's eyes widened slightly, the Gryffindor clearly unsure whether to take Virgil's comments seriously or not. Just the response that Virgil was hoping for, and he could no longer hide the grin on his face.  
  
 _"Of course you're joking,"_  Roman mumbled.  _"Invisibility cloaks would never be the latest in fashion, because fashion is about making an impression! And you can hardly make an impression when one can't even seen what you are wearing!"_  
  
 _I think you're taking this way too seriously,_  Virgil retorted, snickers wracking his figure. 

 _"They're coming!"_  Patton announced in a delighted tone, pointing in the direction of the staircase.  
  
Sure enough, Chelsea, Astrit, and Era were at the bottom of the staircase and making their way toward the pub. Patton extended his arm high up into the air and began to wave repeatedly.  
  
 _"Patton, I would suggest not doing that, you will attract unwanted attention..."_  Logan warned.  
  
 _"But how else will they find us?"_  Patton countered and continued to wave.  
  
Virgil ducked his head a little. Logan wasn't wrong - a few people were shooting them odd looks, but Patton wasn't wrong either - Era, Chelsea, and Astrit did manage to find them quickly, no doubt because of Patton's attempts to grab their attention.  
  
Chelsea and and Era sat next to each other, beside Roman. Astrit, on the other hand, took a seat next to Logan and nodded hello to the Ravenclaw.  
  
 _"So? How did it go?"_  Roman blurted out.  
  
 _"Roman! At least say hi first!"_  Patton scolded.   
  
 _"But I want to know how it went,"_  Roman whined.  _"They kept us waiting all night..."_  
  
Fortunately, the three newcomers were good-natured about the whole thing. Chelsea was even grinning.  
  
...Chelsea was grinning? Virgil had a feeling he knew what the final verdict would be before Era and Astrit actually announced it.  
  
 _"We talked to babi, and decided that we would stay for a while. I assured him I would look after Astrit,"_  Era informed them.  
  
 _"Since when do sixteen year olds need babysitters?"_  Astrit grumbled.  
  
 _"Oh Astrit, no matter how old you are, you'll always be my_  baby  _brother,"_  Era giggled, reaching over and pinching Astrit's cheek. Astrit blushed, then swatted Era's hand away.  
  
Looked like they wouldn't be losing Era and Astrit so soon after all.  _"Our parents will be leaving in a number of days,"_  Astrit added.  _"We have plans to see them off. You can come with us, if you'd like."_  
  
Various owls swooped overhead, dropping pieces of mail. One owl dropped an issue of the Daily Prophet over Logan. Logan caught it with his hand, peering at the cover. His face paled at once.  
  
 _Breakout At Azkaban! Wanted: Lionel Thompson And Phillip Prince_


	28. Chapter 28

As soon as Virgil read the headline over Logan's shoulder, he felt as if he'd been unceremoniously dunked into ice water.

Virgil and Logan looked to one another, then to the others who remained blissfully unaware of what was happening. Era was still teasing Astrit, with Chelsea joining in this time. Roman and Patton were watching in amusement.  
  
At that moment, Patton shifted his gaze from the happy siblings back to Virgil and Logan.  _"Anything interesting going on?"_  He asked Logan upon seeing that Logan was staring down at the front page of the paper.  
  
 _If only you knew, Patton,_  Virgil thought to himself. But he made no effort to give voice to this thought by writing it out. Patton and the others were bound to find out soon enough.  
  
It was evident from Patton's expression that he'd worked out that something was going on. His grin fell, replaced by a look of puzzlement.  _"Logan?"_  he repeated, more subdued this time.  
  
 _"They've escaped,"_  Logan informed him  
  
 _"...what?"_  Patton replied, his face paling.  
  
 _"They've escaped,"_  Logan repeated, louder this time. So loud, in fact, that Chelsea, Roman, Era, and Astrit fell silent at once.  
  
 _"Who's escaped?"_  Chelsea asked.

Logan turned the paper in his hands so that the others could read it.  
  
A medley of gasps rang out from their friends. Era's hand flew over her mouth. Roman's expression became stony. He rose from his seat and immediately headed back for the stairs as the others watched.  
  
 _"I...I'm going to go talk to him, I'm sorry guys,"_  Patton stood and dashed after Roman.  
  
Era frowned as she watched Patton's retreating figure. She turned back to Logan and Virgil, her gaze zeroing in on the latter.  _"How are you holding up, Virgil?"_  
  
Virgil blinked in surprise, not expecting the focus to shift to him so soon after Roman stormed off. He could understand why, of course - his brother escaped from Azkaban along with Roman's - but it was still jarring. "I..." Virgil began, then bit down on his lip to stop himself.  
  
It was  _really hard_  to keep himself from replying verbally when he'd never had to think twice about doing so prior to the curse. He glanced down at his pad of paper, trying to formulate an accepted response to such a loaded question.  
  
 _ ~~I'm fi ~~I don't know,~~~~_  he wrote at last.  
  
So much for an acceptable response.  
  
 _"You know, you can go storming off too if you want. You'd totally be within your rights to do so,"_  Chelsea remarked.  
  
 _Nah, I'm not that extra,_  Virgil replied, grateful for an opportunity to employee some good old snark to take the edge off a little.  
  
It didn't help as much as he hoped it would.  
  
 _"Isn't this the second time Deceit has escaped from Azkaban?"_ Astrit frowned.  _"You'd think they'd keep him in a place with higher security."_  
  
 _"What, two dementors instead of one?"_  Era remarked wryly.  
  
 _First time was from the Ministry,_  Virgil scribbled in response.  
  
 _"Still, he's proving to be quite the slippery snake, isn't he?"_ Chelsea observed.  
  
 _He learned from the best,_  Virgil wrote with a scowl.

 _"To the contrary, I don't believe your father ever escaped from Azkaban,"_  Logan countered.  
  
 _Yeah but I'm sure he helped Deceit escape from Ministry custody,_  Virgil wrote in reply.  
  
 _"A conclusion I think we all can agree with, but your father was not involved with Deceit's escape from Azkaban. He may have utilized methods that your father used to secure Deceit's escape the first time around, or he might have formulated his own methods,"_  Logan mused.  
  
 _"Phillip might have helped too,"_  Astrit pointed out.  
  
 _"Either way, we're in an even worse position than we were before. It was bad enough knowing that the Council was out there and possibly Dalibor. Now we have to worry about Virgil and Roman's brothers from hell?"_  Chelsea blew her hair out of her face in frustration.  
  
 _Not happy about it either,_  Virgil retorted.  
  
 _"I wasn't blaming you,"_  Chelsea amended.  _"Just pointing out that there are a lot of crappy people in the world and we're on the radar of a lot of those crappy people."_  
  
 _"Much as I hate to admit it, that's a good point,"_  Era sighed.  _"Is it too late go back to Albania after all?"_  she asked with a wry smile.  
  
 _"We're definitely not going back to Albania now!"_  Astrit protested.  
  
 _"No, we're not,"_  Era agreed.  _"And I wasn't actually saying that we should, more just commenting on how crappy the situation is as a whole."_  
  
 _"A succinct summary of recent events,"_  Logan declared. Era let out a snort.  
  
 _"So what do we do now?"_  Astrit asked the others, glancing around to see who might respond.  
  
 _I should talk to my mother,_  Virgil wrote as soon as the realization struck him, holding up the paper so that the rest of the table could read.  
  
Chelsea blinked in surprise.  _"Your mother? Why?"_    
  
 _My brother's one of the ones who escaped. If she doesn't know she needs to know, and if she does know she'll probably want to talk about it,_  Virgil replied.  
  
Logan cleared his throat.  _"Would you like for me to accompany you? I know you often visit your mother by yourself, but..."_  
  
 _You can come, L,_  Virgil scribbled, sending Logan a small smile.  
  
 _"We'll be here when you return,"_  Era assured them.  _"Well, maybe not_  here at this table,  _but somewhere in this building."_

 _"Then it is settled - we will eat breakfast and each go our separate ways for a few hours. We will reconvene later in the day, when things have settled down a bit,"_  Logan announced, all the while glancing in the direction of the staircase. It was obvious to Virgil that Logan was thinking of Roman as he made this statement. Virgil hoped that Patton was making headway with Roman. Not that Roman did not have a right to be upset - to the contrary, he had  _every_  right to be upset. But he also deserved comfort, and Virgil could not think of any better person to offer that to Roman than Patton. He just hoped that it would be enough to help.


	29. Chapter 29

Virgil made the trek down to Renilda's flat in relative silence. It was hard to carry on a conversation when one party needed a pen and paper to properly communicate his thoughts, and Virgil couldn't exactly whip out his pad and paper every thirty seconds in the middle of Diagon Alley. Logan did make comments here and there that Virgil would either nod or shake his head to, but that was the extent of their conversation as they walked down the street.  
  
Logan carried the most recent issue of the Daily Prophet rolled up tightly within his left hand. Virgil could not help but smile as he was reminded that he and Logan were the only two lefties in their friend group. It felt nice not to the only one, and the fact that they were boyfriends made it even better.

Virgil and Logan made their way to Renilda's door. Virgil knocked at the door.   
  
_"Who could that be at this time of day?"_  Virgil heard his mother say on the other side of the door. This puzzled Virgil - she spoke too loudly to be talking to herself, which meant that she was speaking to someone - but who would she be speaking to at this time in the morning?  
  
Renilda pulled the door open, eyes widening in slight surprise as she looked Virgil and Logan up and down.  _"Virgil! Logan! Come in, its good to see you both! We were just finishing breakfast, but I could easily whip something up for the two of you if you would like!"_  she said, waving the two of them inside.

 _We?_  That confirmed that Renilda was not alone. Virgil hastily made his way to the dining room, not sure what to expect. His uncle? His cousin? A friend or coworker of his mother's?  
  
It certainly wasn't  _Professor Picani_  that Virgil was expecting to see.  
  
_"Hello! Do you how do?"_  Professor Picani greeted with a smile and a wave. Logan stepped in behind Virgil, and Professor Picani's smile grew.  _"This must be Logan!"_  
  
_"Er, yes, hello, I have passed you a few times in the hall at Hogwarts,"_  Logan stammered. Virgil was surprised to see Logan so out of his element, but this was also the first time Logan had contact with a  _professor_  outside of Hogwarts.  
  
_"Have a seat! I'll get something on the stove for you right away!"_ Renilda began to rummage around in the cupboards. Virgil cleared his throat, trying to get his mother's attention - to no avail, as she was making too much noise pulling items out of the cupboard.   
  
_"Ms. Nyx..."_  Logan tried, a little louder this time.  
  
_"Renilda, dear?"_  Professor Picani chimed in, louder still.  
  
Loud enough for Renilda to hear, apparently, as she stopped digging around and looked to Professor Picani at once.  _"What's going on?"_  Renilda replied.  
  
_...dear?_  
  
_"Your son and his boyfriend were trying to get your attention,"_ Professor Picani replied, gesturing to the two teenagers.  
  
Renilda turned her attention to Virgil and Logan. Logan took a step forward.  _"We dined at the Leaky Cauldron before we arrived here,"_  Logan explained.  
  
_"Oh,"_  Renilda responded, disappointment evident in her tone.  _"Well I suppose I could still fix you something to drink!"_  She began to put the items she'd been fetching before back in the cabinet.

Virgil grew increasingly suspicious of his mother's actions. While she did have a habit of fussing over guests to her home, and Logan  _was_  a guest...it felt more like Renilda was trying to  _distract_  herself - and them - from dangerous waters.  
  
And Virgil had a feeling he knew  _exactly_  what those waters were. So while his mother busied herself with whipping up something to drink for Virgil and Logan, Virgil quickly scribbled something onto his pad of paper and held it up for Professor Picani.  
  
_You and my mother. How long?_  
  
Professor Picani nearly spit out the juice that he was drinking.  _"Now where did you get a silly idea like that?"_  
  
Virgil arched an eyebrow. He didn't even have to write the word 'really?' to get his point across that either Professor Picani would have to own up to it, or would have to come up with a better defense than  _that_.  
  
Professor Picani chuckled and straightened his tie.  _"I suppose the cat's out of the bag, eh? It's been a few weeks. We did plan to tell you, I hope that you are not too upset, though of course it would be understandable if you were and you are certainly allowed to feel whatever you may feel about this news..."_  
  
Virgil started to laugh. Logan looked utterly bewildered.  _"Wait..."_  He squinted at Professor Picani.  _"You and Ms. Nyx..."_ His eyes slowly went wide as the realization struck him.  _"I hadn't even noticed."_  
  
Logan stated this so matter of factly that Virgil laughed even harder. Renilda turned to face the table at this scene, looking even more puzzled than Logan.  _"What did I miss?"_  
  
Professor Picani smiled.  _"Virgil and Logan just realized that we're seeing one another."_  
  
Renilda, who was placing a glass of juice in front of Logan, nearly dropped said glass of juice. Her gaze immediately shot to Virgil, who was just now regaining his composure.  
  
_Do what you have to, mum,_  Virgil jotted onto his notepad as a reply.  _Definitely not the weirdest thing I've dealt with in my life, and it's far from the worst._  
  
So long as people outside of his friend group did not find out that his mother was dating a Hogwarts professor who also just so happened to be his therapist.  
  
Renilda heaved a sigh of relief and let out a nervous laugh.  _"I actually had a crush on him back when we were in school, but he was older, and he already had a boyfriend, and then Linus came into the picture and...life happened."_

 _The worst thing that ever happened to you, you mean?_ Virgil scribbled with a wry smirk. _  
  
"Well, no, not exactly..." _Renilda began.  
  
Virgil's face fell. She wasn't going to try to defend Linus, was she?   
  
_"Without him I wouldn't have had the two sons that I did, would I?"_ Renilda continued. Virgil glanced up at his mother just in time to see her looking at him fondly.  
  
He smiled. He couldn't help it.  
  
Then he heard Logan clearing his throat beside him and the sound of paper rustling.  
  
Oh, right. The reason he and Logan ventured to Renilda's flat in the first place.   
  
_"I take it you have not read the latest issue of the Daily Prophet?"_ Logan inquired.  
  
Renilda frowned, shaking her head. _"No, I haven't. Why?"_  
  
Logan slowly unraveled the paper in his hand, then held it up for Renilda and Professor Picani to see.  
  
The plate Renilda held fell to the ground with a loud crash.


	30. Chapter 30

Virgil immediately jumped to his feet as his mother wobbled where she stood. She leaned back against the counter, however, and seemed to regain her stability.  
  
 _"Lionel and Phillip have escaped from Azkaban,"_  Renilda murmured.   
  
Virgil was relieved that his mother had something to lean against, but he decided to stay on his feet  _just in case_. Professor Picani was eying Renilda closely too, Virgil noted and approved of.  
  
 _"Yes they have. I presume it happened recently, within the last day or so. I get the Daily Prophet delivered every day and this is the first I've heard of it,"_  Logan replied.

 _"I haven't gotten my copy yet,"_  Renilda replied in a breathless voice, making it clear that she was still processing the news.  
  
 _"Lionel and Phillip...I'm aware of who Lionel is, but...wait, Prince? Is Phillip related to Roman by any chance?"_  Professor Picani said with a frown.  
  
Virgil nodded. Professor Picani pulled a planner out of his pocket and jotted something down. Virgil figured it was a note for his upcoming session with Roman, but kept quiet. It was Roman's personal business, for one. In addition, he'd promised Roman that he wouldn't talk about his conversations with Roman in front of others who might not be in the know.  
  
Renilda let out a shaky sigh.  _"Well what now?"_  she blurted out.  
  
 _"Pardon?"_  Logan asked.  
  
 _"What are we going to do now? L-Lionel tried to kill Virgil. He cursed several students. He...he..."_  Renilda bit down on her lip.  _"Excuse me, I should probably...well..."_  Her eyes were welling up with tears, but it was clear that Renilda wanted to make a run for it. Instead, Professor Picani rose to his feet and immediately placed his arms around Renilda.  
  
The floodgates opened at once and Renilda began to sob.  _"Where...where did I go wrong?"_  
  
 _"You didn't,"_  Professor Picani assured her.  _"You tried to provide him with a good influence, but you were only one parent. It's also important to remember that parents are not the only influence on their children, especially in their teen years."_  
  
 _"Did they break out themselves? Did someone break them out?"_ Renilda asked, wiping at her eyes.  
  
 _"The article does not say for certain,"_  Logan replied.  _"I'd hazard a guess that they intend to rejoin the Council, however."_  
  
Virgil didn't think it would be too hard for Deceit and Phillip to find their way back. Phillip's parents were high ranking members, after all. They were probably headed to the Princes' house that very instant - if they weren't already there.

Virgil could hardly stand seeing his mother the way she was, and he realized with a jolt that Lionel had attempted to kill  _her_ too.  
  
Or, at the very least, was an accessory to Linus' attempts to do so. They never did discover who cursed Renilda part of the way through sixth year, but who  _else_  would go after Renilda - and have the resources to do so?  
  
He felt even more ill as he recalled that Linus had  _him_  under his spells the year before. Because of Linus' memory modifications, Virgil was under the impression that his mother left the family. Would he have used Virgil against Renilda as well?  
  
Virgil chewed on his thumbnail. He saw Logan cast him a concerned glance in his peripheral vision.  _"What's bothering you?"_  Logan whispered when it became clear that Renilda and Professor Picani were carrying on a hushed conversation of their own.

 _Nothing, just thinking,_  Virgil wrote out.  
  
This time it was Logan's turn to arch his eyebrow skeptically.  
  
 _Deceit went after my mother before. What if he does it again?_  he scribbled out, then showed the pad to Logan. It didn't  _completely_  encompass Virgil's worries, but it did hit on one of them - therefore, he technically wasn't lying.  
  
 _"We don't know for certain that it was Deceit that cursed your mother,"_  Logan whispered back.  _"Besides, they have to realize that everyone they went after is going to be on guard now."_  
  
 _Most of the people they went after are at Hogwarts. It's not like they can go back there,_  Virgil replied.  _And they won't be on guard for everything. Most of Deceit's targets don't know ab_ Virgil trailed off there, setting his pen down as an idea began to form within his head.   
  
 _"'Most of Deceit's targets don't know ab?' What is that supposed to mean, Virgil?"_  Logan stared down at the pad with a bewildered expression.  
  
Virgil let out a snort, shaking his head.  _I have an idea, but we have to go back to the Leaky,_  he wrote below that.  
  
Logan blinked in surprise, then glanced over at Renilda and Professor Picani.  _"Ms. Nyx and Professor Picani, it was nice to see you both. But we should be getting back to the Leaky Cauldron..."_  
  
Renilda looked from Logan to Virgil, then back again.  _"Going so soon? But you just arrived! At least have lunch with us!"_  she protested.  
  
Virgil shifted in his seat. He really wanted to get back to the Leaky and talk to his friends, but his mother was giving him a  _look_  that he did not particularly want to argue with...  
  
Logan looked to Virgil. Virgil realized that Logan did not know why he wanted to go to the Leaky Cauldron, and therefore he could not answer for Virgil.   
  
 _I want to talk to a friend about something,_  Virgil jotted down, then held the pad up for his mother to read.  
  
Much to Virgil's surprise, Renilda smiled.  _"That's fine! Invite them over here! In fact, why don't you invite all of your friends over here? I'd love to see them all again!"_  
  
 _You haven't actually met the friend I'm talking about,_  Virgil replied.  
  
 _"Oh, is this one of your friends who was in the hospital room when I came to St. Mungo's? They can all come over!  Go ahead and send them an owl! We'll have a nice lunch!"_  Renilda smiled in excitement.  _"Emile, would you be willing to help with the preparations?"_  
  
 _"Of course! I'm ready! I'm ready! I'm ready!"_  Professor Picani said in a sing song voice with a grin.  
  
 _"...did you just quote Spongebob Squarepants?"_  Logan stared at the professor.   
  
Professor Picani beamed.  _"I did! Five points to Ravenclaw!"_  
  
 _"We're not at...oh, nevermind,"_  Logan mumbled as Professor Picani and Renilda headed into a different room.  
  
Virgil looked to Logan, unsure what to say or do next.   
  
Logan sighed and held out his hand.  _"May I borrow a piece of paper from your pad and your pen? I believe I have a letter that I need to craft."_  
  
Looked like they'd be having a home-cooked lunch for the first time in...Virgil wasn't even sure when the last time he'd had a home-cooked lunch  _was_. Perhaps this wasn't so bad after all.


	31. Chapter 31

Soon, Renilda's flat was bustling with activity.   
  
Roman, Patton, Era, Astrit, and Chelsea arrived shortly after Logan sent out the owl. That made for a grand total of  _nine_  people - and Virgil wondered if his mother and Professor Picani would really be able to cook for that many people in that short of time.

 _"I grew up with five siblings. I've cooked for seven more times than I can count. Two more on top of that is nothing,"_  Renilda assured Virgil when he brought up his concerns.  
  
Renilda might have come from a large family, but the only sibling she maintained contact with after her divorce from Linus was Uncle Rembrandt. Uncle Rembrandt was disowned from the family for marrying Aunt Helena - which held bearing on Renilda's decision to ultimately marry Linus, Virgil suspected. Renilda never outright  _stated_  that she was disowned by the rest of the Nyxes, but it could be inferred.  
  
At least she and Uncle Rembrandt could establish a new reputation for that surname. And Virgil would still rather be a Nyx than a Thompson any day of the week, especially after what Linus and Lionel did to him.  _Especially_  after what Linus did to him.  
  
 _"Virgil? Are you alright?"_  Renilda asked worriedly.  
  
"Yeah, why?" Virgil replied without thinking. Renilda frowned.  
  
Oh. Right.  
  
 _Yeah, why?_  he hastily scribbled out.  
  
 _"You look tense. You were clenching your hands into fists. What's on your mind?"_  Renilda questioned.  
  
 _What isn't on my mind?_  Virgil retorted.   
  
Renilda folded her arms across her chest.  _"Nice try, but that non-answer won't work on me."_  
  
Virgil snorted. He should have known better, he supposed, but it was worth a shot.  _Just thinking about how I'd rather be a Nyx than a Thompson._  
  
Renilda let out a snort of her own.  _"I don't know, the Nyx family is not much better than the Thompson family."_  
  
Virgil wrote 'Good Nyxes' on his paper and underline it, then wrote his mother's name followed by Uncle Rembrandt's, Aunt Helena's, and his cousin Remy (Remy might know just how to work his nerves, but he was still a good Nyx all said and done).  
  
Then he wrote 'Good Thompsons' and underlined it. He left the spot beneath the line blank. He looked up at his mother and gestures to the paper as if to say 'see?'.

 _"Huh, that list doesn't look quite right. Let me see your pen,"_ Renilda replied.

Virgil did as his mother instructed. Renilda took the pen and leaned over the two lists. She wrote 'Virgil' under 'Good Thompsons'.  
  
 _"There. Looks much more accurate now,"_  she said as she set Virgil's pen back down.  
  
Virgil raised an eyebrow.  _Seems fake but okay,_  he wrote on a new sheet of paper.  
  
Renilda rolled her eyes.  _"That being said, if you'd prefer to be a Nyx, we can arrange that."_  
  
Virgil glanced up at his mother in surprise.  _You could?_  
  
 _"Of course. How do you think I changed my name back after my divorce? I went to the Ministry,"_ Renilda informed him.  
  
 _Yeah, but that's different, you were getting a divorce,_  Virgil wrote.  
  
 _"Not that different. Believe me, it's not that hard if you go to the right place...and after the divorce, I have a fairly good idea of what I'm doing,"_  Renilda assured him.

Virgil grinned in response, though his mood quickly shifted as he realized that there were still matters he needed to discuss with his mother, issues that he'd been putting off for too long at this point. He picked up his pen once more, jotting his next words.  _I made a prophecy when I was still with Linus,_  he revealed.  
  
Renilda's eyes blew wide.  _"A prophecy? What did it say?"_  
  
...oh. Right. He should have expected that question.  _Dunno. They never told me,_  Virgil admitted.  
  
 _"Oh,"_  Renilda blinked.  
  
 _Started realizing something was wrong then,_  Virgil continued to write.  _In the fake memories he made, Linus was always there for me after I went into a trance. But he didn't care. He was more focused on the prophecy than on me._  
  
Renilda let out a derisive snort.  _"That's the man that I married, my parents insisting that we were made for each other. What a gentleman, that Linus Thompson."_  Her voice positively  _dripped_  with sarcasm.  
  
Virgil let out a shaky sigh before he scribbled out the next bit of information he wished to share with his mother.  _That night I had a dream you comforted me after my first prophecy._  
  
Renilda's face paled.  
  
 _I thought it was my mind playing tricks on me, that I wanted someone to talk to so badly that I conjured it up in a dream,_  Virgil admitted, even though he made him feel like a garbage person.  
  
 _"But it was a memory,"_  Renilda murmured.   
  
Virgil nodded, tapping his pen against the table as he tried to determine what he wanted to say next. It hit him soon enough.  _It made me feel better,_  he admitted with a small smile.  
  
Renilda returned the smile with warm eyes.  
  
Linus tried to take this away from him. Tried to take  _him_  away from  _this_. He failed.

Though Virgil hadn't realized it at the time, Linus was undermining his own efforts by acting in opposition to how he'd portrayed himself in the false memories he gave Virgil. Thus, the dissonance was immediately noticed by Virgil.  
  
It stood to reason some of Virgil's  _real_  memories and experiences began to shine through at that point, as evidenced by his dream recollection of his mother comforting him after his first prophecy, his feelings of familiarity when he laid eyes on Logan in Knockturn Alley, and his inability to give his all against Logan later on because of this.  
  
He was arrogant enough to believe that he had Virgil wrapped around his finger, but Virgil already suspected something was amiss, and he'd started to pull away from Linus as a result. This led to the circumstances where he didn't tell about his encounter with Logan, Patton, and Roman in Knockturn Alley, and that gave Logan, Patton, and Roman the opportunity to launch their surprise attack without any of the others even knowing they were coming.  
  
Linus' mistakes led to his own downfall, and there was a sort of poetic justice to that.


	32. Chapter 32

After their conversation, Virgil opted to help his mother and Professor Picani with the food. Renilda and Professor Picani were taking care of the main dish and sides, and so Virgil decided to whip something up for dessert. With Professor Picani's help, he decorated several cookies in the fashion of the cookies from Alice In Wonderland, writing 'Eat Me' and 'Take One' on several of them.  
  
The others enjoyed the meal immensely, and Patton got a huge kick out of the cookies that Virgil decorated. Logan too, though his amusement was much more subdued. Still, Virgil knew his boyfriend well enough to know that Logan enjoyed the cookies too.  _"I wasn't aware that you were familiar with Alice In Wonderland?"_  Logan asked him after lunch.  _"It is a Muggle book and film, after all."_  
  
 _Haven't seen the movie,_  Virgil wrote in response.  _Read the book. Professor Picani helped. Didn't think you'd be into Alice In Wonderland?_  
  
Logan shrugged.  _"I've always enjoyed the author's works; I marvel at his word play in particular. Did you know that Lewis Carroll was a mathematician in addition to his career in literature?"_  
  
Virgil shook his head.  _I didn't, but I get why you like him so much._  He shot Logan a small smile.  
  
 _"Didn't you say you wished to speak to one of the others, hence our inviting them here in the first place?"_  Logan asked as Patton and Roman walked by, Patton talking excitedly about a dog that they'd seen on their way over to Renilda's flat.  
  
Oh...Virgil hated to admit it, but it  _had_  slipped his mind in light of all of the guests and his conversation with his mother prior to helping her and Professor Picani prepare lunch.  
  
Logan seemed to recognize the look of slight surprise on Virgil's face for what it was, and let loose a couple of chuckles.  _"It's been a busy day thus far. Shall we call a meeting or do you wish to talk to this person on your own?"_  
  
 _On my own,_  Virgil replied.  _Least at first._  
  
Logan nodded in acknowledgment.  _"I would suggest your mother's spare room for a private conversation. I'll make certain that the others don't interrupt."_  
  
Virgil smiled.  _Thanks, Lo._  He slipped his pen and paper into his pocket and gave Logan a peck on the lips before he set out to find the person he wished to speak to.   
  
...or write to, in his case. Either way, he wished to  _communicate_  with them.   
  
It didn't take long before the perfect opportunity presented itself. After helping his mother and Professor Picani with clean up, he went to join the rest of the group. As it so happened, Logan happened to be conversing with the very person that Virgil wanted to speak to. He walked up behind the two of them and tapped on Chelsea's shoulder.  
  
Logan blinked in surprise. Clearly he hadn't expected that Virgil would wish to talk to Chelsea. Chelsea, too, looked at Virgil in surprise. Logan quickly recovered from his shock and motioned for Virgil and Chelsea to be on their way.  
  
Virgil and Chelsea made their way to the spare bedroom. Virgil reached for the pen and pad in his pocket. Chelsea stared at Virgil in confusion.  _"You want to talk to me? By ourselves? Why?"_  
  
Virgil couldn't blame Chelsea for being confused. They were undoubtedly friends at this point, but Virgil wasn't as  _close_  to Chelsea as he was to most of the others. So why would he want to talk to her one-on-one, out of all of the party guests?  
  
 _Do you still write articles?_  Virgil scribbled quickly and turned for Chelsea to see.  
  
Chelsea looked, if possible, even more bewildered.  _"Uh, yeah, though I haven't had a chance to publish much recently with everything that's been going on. Why?"_  
  
 _Can you write something for me?_  Virgil wrote in somewhat shaky scrawl. He could hardly believe what he was asking.  
  
Neither, apparently, could Chelsea.  _"Write something for you? What do you want me to write? I thought you didn't want me writing anything about you after what I wrote in sixth year. Not that I blame you, I shouldn't have..."_  
  
Virgil waved his hand, shaking his head and trying to direct her attention to what he'd written on the pad.  _Not about me. About the Council._  
  
Chelsea's eyes blew widen open at that.  _"You want me to write an expose about the Council? Are you serious?"_  
  
Virgil shrunk a little. He should have known better. It was such a huge risk, it felt like it needed to be done but that was only because they were  _already after him_ , so what did he have to lose?  _Sorr-,_  he began to write, but was soon interrupted by a loud squeal.  
  
Virgil glanced up with wide eyes only to see Chelsea clapping her hands together and looking as excited as a small child on Christmas morning.  _"I'd_  love  _to write an expose on the Council! I've been wanting to do this for a long time! I've already gathered so many notes from our time at Thompson Manor and what Roman's told us..."_  
  
Virgil stared at Chelsea incredulously. He'd expected her to be hesitant, to downright refuse, not to be  _excited_  about the whole thing.  
  
...then again, he supposed he shouldn't be, from what he knew of Chelsea. One corner of his mouth twitched upward into a little half-smile, and he let out a chuckle.  
  
 _I can give you some addition information,_  Virgil wrote.  
  
 _"Great! I'll take anything I can get!"_  Chelsea beamed.  
  
Now that Virgil knew that Chelsea was on board...he knew that he needed to tell the others. Virgil would be one of Chelsea's primary sources of information, and Chelsea would be the writer of the article, so they were arguably two of the most important parties involved...but the others were involved as well. And Virgil wanted to make sure that  _everyone_  was aware of what was to be done and approved of doing so.  
  
The wizarding world at large needed to know about the Council, and not just the basics that had been revealed with the news of Linus' death, but the  _details_  that would show that Linus - and Lionel and Phillip, for that matter - were not fringe extremists acting on their own, but that many powerful purebloods supported them - and that a number of those powerful purebloods were prominent members of the wizarding community at large.  
  
This article could very well put them in more danger than they were already in.  
  
But it also had the possibility to flip the wizarding world upside down. It might very well be worth the risk.  
  
Merlin, what was he getting himself into? What was he thinking? He could already feel himself shaking as he and Chelsea made their way back into the main room of the house.  
  
Hopefully Chelsea would be able to do most of the talking, because Virgil was starting to feel a bit faint...


	33. Chapter 33

_"So let me get this straight..."_  Logan began.  
  
_"Good luck with that, Specs,"_  Roman snickered.  
  
Logan squeezed the bridge of his nose between his fingers with an exasperated sigh.  _"Why do I even try?"_  
  
_"The plan is to write a tell-all about the Council, correct?"_  Era said, attempting to get them back on track.  
  
Virgil nodded.  
  
_"That's...really dangerous, isn't it?"_  Patton said quietly.  
  
_"Incredibly,"_  Chelsea grinned.   
  
_"Virgil is the one who presented this idea? Are you sure?"_  Roman glanced in Virgil's direction skeptically.  
  
Virgil nodded once more. He scribbled a message then turned it for the others to see.  _The wizarding world needs to know._

 _"You know, I kind of have to agree with Roman...I'm surprised at this decision, coming from_  you  _of all people,"_  Era admitted.  
  
She wasn't  _wrong_ , and if Virgil were in Era's shoes, he'd probably feel the same way.  
  
Virgil's leg bounced up and down repeatedly as he sat, gaze focused determinedly toward the floor. He wouldn't pretend that he wasn't nervous, but he'd put a lot of thought into this. It wasn't something that he wanted to do, but it was something that  _needed_  to be done. He understood why his friends were questioning what was happening, but it wasn't helping  _him_ maintain his resolve to do what he  _knew_  to be the right thing.  
  
Then help came from a source that Virgil wasn't expecting.  
  
 _"I agree,"_  Astrit piped up.  
  
The others looked to him in surprise.  
  
 _"What? We've been talking about how dangerous the Council and Dalibor are. This is our chance to do something about it,"_  the fifth year continued. Of course Astrit would understand. He'd been kidnapped by this group as well. He, too, understood all too well that their ragtag group of teenagers did not stand a chance of going against the Council and Dalibor on their own.  
  
 _"I'm just...scared,"_  Patton murmured.  _"What if they come after you?"_  
  
Virgil let out a snort and wrote out his reply to Patton.  _And you think I'm not? They've already come after me. They're continuing to come after me. They already tried to silence me once._  He gestured to his mouth.  _I'm not going to let them._  
  
Renilda's hand flew to her mouth.  _"This is your way of striking back at them."_  
  
Virgil shrugged.  _I mean maybe,_  Virgil jotted out in response.  _If they're going to go this far to ensure that I don't talk, I might as well ensure that I do._  
  
 _"But this is something that the wizarding world needs to know,"_ Chelsea announced.  _"Think about it - We barely won against Roman's parents, James, and Virgil's father."_  
  
 _"The entire Council is a lot bigger than four people. I saw that, and so did Virgil, I assume,"_  Astrit continued.  
  
Virgil nodded.  _We can't go against them ourselves,_  he wrote, shuffling a little in his seat. He was more than scared, he was utterly  _terrified_. He felt as if he was throwing himself to the front lines. But what other options did they have at this point? Going directly to the Ministry was an option, yes, but it was also an option that held the chance of backfiring. There were plenty of good people still within the Ministry, but Virgil and the others  _knew_  that Linus helped to establish a foothold for the Council within the Ministry. It was announced at the Council meeting that Virgil attended while under his father's enchantments.   
  
If the information they presented went to the wrong person? It could utterly  _ruin_  them.  
  
 _"Will you be sending this to the Daily Prophet?"_  Logan questioned Chelsea.  
  
 _"Of course,"_  Chelsea revealed.  _"Anonymously, as much as it kills me in a figurative sense. If I didn't I'd run the risk of being killed in a literal sense, and I prefer the former over the latter. Besides...and again, it hurts to admit this - they're a lot more likely to publish an article like this from an anonymous source than they are to publish an article written by what they know to be a seventeen year old girl. And the wizarding world is a lot more likely to take it seriously too."_  She sounded bitter. Virgil could hardly blame her.  
  
People were more likely to read her work if they didn't know that she was the one who wrote it.  
  
 _"We'll make sure you get the proper credit,"_  Era said, squeezing Chelsea's hand in an attempt to comfort her girlfriend.  
  
 _"It's more important that it's_  read _, though,"_  Chelsea countered.  
  
 _"Of course,"_  Era agreed.  _"But that doesn't mean that your identity can't be revealed eventually. That would be a scandal all it's own,"_  she said with a wink.  
  
The corners of Chelsea's mouth twitched upward.  _"Hmmm, it could indeed...thanks, Era."_  She grinned and gave Era a peck on the lips.  
  
 _"I believe we should call this to a vote,"_  Logan announced, drawing everyone else's attention.  _"To everyone present...all those in favor of going public with the story, raise your hand."_  
  
Virgil and Chelsea were the first to extend their hands into the air, followed quickly by Astrit. Logan was next, then Roman and Patton, who rose their hands almost simultaneously.  
  
Virgil turned to Renilda and Professor Picani. Virgil arched an eyebrow and gestured around as if to say 'well?'.  
  
Renilda's eyes widened as she noted this. Virgil was not the only one casting a gaze in their direction - in fact, all eyes were on the two adults.  _"Wait, you want_  us  _to..."_  She glanced over at Professor Picani, who looked similarly surprised.  
  
 _"You are currently present in this room,"_  Logan observed.  _"Therefore, you should have a say."_  
  
 _"I..."_  Renilda faltered.  _"I'm scared for your safety, but at the same time...I admire your bravery. All of you. As much as I would like to shelter all of you from the horrors of the world, especially you, Virgil...I can't. All of you have already seen so much, there's no point in pretending otherwise. The best thing that Emile and I can do is stand beside you, rather than let you explore these uncharted waters alone. Yes, I...I'm in favor,"_  she revealed at last, extending her hand high into the air.  
  
 _"As am I,"_  Emile announced, following suit.  
  
 _"Then it's settled,"_  Logan called out.  _"We are going public."_


	34. Chapter 34

Virgil once more found himself within the spare bedroom of Renilda's flat, but this time it was not for a session with Professor Picani, but rather an interview of sorts with Chelsea.  
  
Chelsea sat crosslegged in one of the chairs in the room, notebook open and pen in hand and ready to write.

 _"I'll be upfront with you - Sometimes I get a little overexcited when I've got a big story, so let me know if I overwhelm you too much at any point,"_  Chelsea warned Virgil with a sheepish grin.  
  
At least she possessed some level of self-awareness about it?  
  
 _I'm always overwhelmed,_  Virgil retorted in writing.  _Besides, you can't be any worse than Roman,_  he added.  
  
Chelsea let out a snort at that.  _"I won't tell him you said that. Now...what is it you want me to go for with this article? A reveal of who is involved with the Council? An expose of the crimes that they've committed?"_  
  
 _Let's stick to what we can confirm,_  Virgil wrote in reply.  _I don't know all of their names, but I can name some. We can also explain how they kidnapped Astrit and I, their attempts to bring a dark wizard back to life with a horcrux, and the fact that they killed James thinking that he was Patton._  
  
 _"Everything we've directly witnessed, in other words,"_  Chelsea observed.  
  
Virgil nodded.  _If they think we made up one part, they'll think we made up the whole thing._  
  
 _"They?"_  Chelsea furrowed her brow.  _"The Council?"_  
  
Virgil shook his head and quickly jotted out his reply.  _The wizarding public. We want them to listen to us. We can't give them anything extra to use against us._  
  
Chelsea frowned, chewing on the edge of her pen before scribbling out a few notes.

He wanted everything to go as well as it possibly could, and that meant driving the point home that they had to be careful with what they were doing. Fortunately, Chelsea seemed to understand...but what if that was all a facade? What if she feigned listening to him but proceeded to publish a different version of the article generated to garner more views?  
  
Virgil felt guilty for feeling this way about someone he considered to be a good friend, but his fears were admittedly not entirely unfounded. Chelsea  _did_  publish a sensationalist article with  _him_  as a subject the prior year, and he'd had to bear the brunt of the consequences. Students accusing him of being just like his brother, even going so far as to try to go after him themselves...Virgil's tensed at the memory.

 _"You okay?"_  Chelsea asked, eyeing him as she did so.  
  
 _No,_  he admitted.  _But it's not like there's anything I can do about it._  
  
Chelsea let out a sigh, tapping her pen against her paper.  _"You said you could name some of the Council members? Let's start there."_  
  
Virgil glanced down at his own pad and slowly began to write out the names that he recognized.  _Victoria Prince, Edward Prince, Phillip Prince, Lionel Thompson, Draven Blackburn, Edgar Bellamy, Karissa Pepper, Charles Lowry, Cyrian Mackenzie._  He would recognize a few others by sight, but he wasn't absolutely sure of their names - and that, sadly, meant that he would have to leave them out, lest he accidentally identify the wrong person. Virgil handed the list over to Chelsea, who gave it a quick look over.  
  
 _"There's a few new names on here,"_  Chelsea noted.  _"I know about the Princes and Deceit, of course, but Draven, Edgar, Karissa, Charles, and Cyrian are all new."_  
  
Virgil nodded.  _Edgar works at Borgin and Burkes,_  he explained in writing.  _Draven taught Deceit how to become an Animagus. Karissa was one of the ones who helped to prepare the potion for Dalibor to come back to life. Charles and Cyrian were both at the Council meeting Linus brought me to."_  
  
 _"I do recognize a couple of these last names,"_  Chelsea remarked.   
  
 _Some of them are pretty prominent pureblood names,_  Virgil replied.  
  
 _"Indeed,"_  Chelsea frowned.  _"My father works for the Ministry, I wonder if he knows any of them? I wonder if he knew your fath...er, Linus? He never mentioned the name but that doesn't mean much. He doesn't talk about work at home much."_  
  
Virgil shrugged, unsure how to reply to that.  
  
Chelsea blew her hair out of her face and glanced down once more.  _"Just wondering...do you think they'll know it's you?"_  she tilted her head slightly.  _"Who gave the 'anonymous article writer' the information, I mean."_  
  
Virgil's stomach lurched at that.  _Probably,_  he scribbled in reply.  _Why?_  
  
 _"Doesn't that scare you?"_  Chelsea frowned.  
  
Virgil shot her a glare.  _DUH,_  he wrote in all caps and then turned his paper around so that she could see it.  
  
 _"You sure you want to do this?"_  Chelsea questioned, leaning in slightly.  
  
Virgil let out a shaky sigh and shook his head.   
  
Chelsea set her own pen down.  _"That's what I thought. Let's go tell the others."_  
  
Virgil arched an eyebrow upward.   
  
 _"What?"_  Chelsea glanced back in puzzlement.  
  
 _I don't want to do this,_  Virgil wrote.  
  
 _"I know, that's wh-what are you writing?"_  Chelsea frowned and tried to peer at what Virgil was writing.  _"I don't want to do this, but it NEEDS to be done,"_  Chelsea read out loud.  
  
Her eyes widened. Virgil nodded. Chelsea grabbed her pen and the two immediately set back to work.

It didn't take long for the two teens to wrap up their session. Chelsea stuck her pen behind her ear and closed her notebook with a satisfied grin.  _"That should give me plenty to work with. I'll probably ask Astrit and Roman a few more questions, and maybe even your mother, but I've got a lot to work with already. Thanks for all your help, Virge."_  
  
Virgil, who'd already closed his own notebook and stashed it away in his pocket at this point, gave a shrug of his shoulders and a half smile in response. He just hoped it was all worth it.


	35. Chapter 35

Several days passed, and Virgil hurried to glance at the Daily Prophet each time it was delivered. Chelsea confirmed a couple of days after their interview that the article was ready to be sent out.  
  
Chelsea's owl returned with nothing attached to her leg, which meant that  _someone_  looked at the article. Virgil could only hope that meant that the Daily Prophet would go through with publishing the article.  
  
Of course, there was just as likely a chance that they tossed the article in the trash as soon as they saw it, so Virgil tried not to get his hopes up too much.  
  
Virgil and Logan opted to stay under Renilda's roof. Sadly, there was not enough room for the others to stay overnight, but Renilda put her foot down. It would be cheaper for Logan and Virgil to stay with her, not to mention  _safer_  for all parties involved.  
  
Virgil was startled awake one morning by Renilda's shouting.  _"Virgil! Logan! Come quick!"_  
  
Virgil nearly tripped over his sheets as he jumped out of bed and bolted for the living room. He glanced around at once with a frantic expression, half ready to retrieve his wand. Was his mother in trouble? Was someone attacking her? She hadn't  _sounded_  particularly distressed, but Virgil's heart continued to hammer nevertheless.  
  
He felt something slam into the back of him, and he let out a noise somewhere between a growl and a yelp.  
  
Renilda came running into the room at once.  _"Oh there you ar-are the two of you alright?"_  
  
_"Apologies, Virgil,"_  Virgil heard Logan say from behind him. Virgil heaved a sigh of relief, glad that Logan was the one who bumped into him and not the intruder...  
  
...the intruder! Virgil brandished his wand at once, doing a quick scan of the room.

He saw no one other than Renilda and Logan, but remained on guard.  
  
_"Virgil, may I ask what you are doing?"_  a bewildered Logan asked, eying Virgil closely.  
  
Virgil realized he'd left his pad upstairs in the pocket of his hoodie, which he'd neglected to toss over his shirt in his rush to get to his mother. He gestured to his mother, then to his wand, hoping that this would get the point across.  
  
Logan continued to stare blankly, but Renilda...Renilda's hand flew to her mouth at once.  _"Oh no, you...Virgil, nothing happened to me, I just wanted to show you the latest issue of the Daily Prophet!"_  
  
...oh. Virgil let his wand arm fall back to his side. He felt incredibly stupid.  
  
Renilda continued forward with what was presumably the latest issue of the Daily Prophet.  
  
The pieces connected. Virgil's eyes widened. The Daily Prophet. Chelsea's article. The latest issue.  
  
"They finally published Chelsea's article?" Virgil gasped.  
  
_"I'm going to assume you just asked if they published Chelsea's article,"_  Renilda replied.  _"To which I'll say...take a look for yourself."_  
  
Virgil's hand flew over his mouth as he recalled the curse, but he soon removed his hand and let out a loud gasp at what he saw written.  
  
_Lone Extremists Or Part Of A Wider Network? A Daily Prophet Exclusive_  
  
_"That's it. That's Chelsea's article,"_  Logan marveled.  
  
It was not credited to Chelsea, or course. It was credited to 'an anonymous source', and in addition to the article itself there was another article  _about_  the article.

Virgil was eager to read both articles, though also a tad apprehensive.

 

> _The Thompson and Prince families have faced their share of scandals as of late. The Daily Prophet itself reported on the grievous attacks Lionel Thompson leveraged against schoolmates of certain backgrounds, incidents that thankfully only resulted in mere injuries but could have very well resulted in death had aid not been rendered to these students._  
>    
> _Lionel Thompson and his accomplice, Phillip Prince, have recently escaped custody. Both men were sentenced to Azkaban for two years for their crimes at Hogwarts._  
>    
> _This was widely reported as an isolated incident - two boys who considered themselves above others because of their so-called pure wizard blood._  
>    
> _Rarely does such extremist activity occur in a vacuum._  
>    
> _Linus Thompson was investigated, but the initial investigation uncovered no wrongdoing on the part of the elder Thompson._  
>    
> _No mention was made of the fact that Linus Thompson was close friends with Draven Blackburn, the Ministry official placed in charge of the investigation._

The article continued on to describe Virgil's kidnapping, at which point he had to look away.

It was difficult enough recalling what he'd lived through, but seeing it recounted on paper made his chest feel heavy. It wasn't even the main bulk of the article, merely one of the  _many_  crimes denoted by Chelsea in her article, but it was enough.  
  
_"You alright, V?"_  Renilda asked quietly.  
  
Virgil nodded, trying to keep it together. This needed to be done, after all.  
  
Renilda pulled him into a hug nevertheless. He let out a noise of surprise, which led to laughter from Renilda.  
  
He chewed on his bottom lip, for once thankful that he wouldn't be expected to talk. If he talked, he wasn't sure if it would be accompanied by laughter or sobs. The tumult of emotions he was experiencing were difficult enough to process himself, let alone try to explain to his mother and boyfriend.

 _"It's a lot to process, is it not?"_  Logan murmured. Virgil nodded.  
  
_"I feel similarly,"_  Logan admitted.  _"I still believe we made the best decision, though. While I do not feel that this will bring about the end of the Council, it does at least draw attention to the issue, as we hoped."_

 _"I'll say,"_ Renilda muttered.  _"It's one of the front stories."_  
  
_"Course it is. Its sensational. It draws the attention of the reader. It's all a bit too sensational for my liking, but I do understand the intent behind doing so and thus approve of it,"_  Logan remarked.  
  
Virgil let out a shaky chuckle. He wasn't sure what to expect, but he knew that something was about to happen, something big - and it was only a matter of time before they found out what.


	36. Chapter 36

Virgil wasn't the only one reeling from the article's publication. It was one thing to talk about doing something big like this. It was another thing entirely once they started to see results.  
  
Astrit experienced frequent nightmares since his most recent kidnapping, but Era reported that they'd gotten worse after reading Chelsea's article. Era fretted over this, but Astrit reassured his sister that he did not regret their decision to go public.   
  
Chelsea was apologetic, but Virgil and Astrit both informed her that she had nothing to apologize for.  
  
The news reached Hogwarts, as evidenced by a letter that Virgil received from Elliott discussing both the Daily Prophet article and, in stark contrast, the normal day to day happenings at Hogwarts.  
  
 _Hey Virge,  
  
You've missed some unforgettable moments here at Hogwarts. Shane in particular fought valiantly in the Attack Of The Killer Homework, but he did not emerge unscathed. He's recovering, but we're preparing for Attack Of The Killer Homework Part 2, NEWT Boogaloo. Wish us luck - We may need it.  
  
Seriously, though, NEWTs are a drag. I would tell you to be glad you're missing them, but you've gone through some crazy shit that more than makes up for that.  
  
(Er, make sure Patton doesn't read this letter.)  
  
Hope to see you again some time soon. Paige, Shane, and I should be able to plan something for Hogsmeade weekend...we could come visit you, or you could come visit us?   
  
Actually, nix (...pun not intended. I mean it, don't show Patton this letter) visiting Hogsmeade. I doubt you and Astrit wanna step foot in Hogsmeade again as long as you live after what happened to you guys here. Merlin knows I wouldn't. We'll come out to London to visit you guys instead.  
  
If we don't drown in homework first, that is. Owl me back soon, and if it takes me too long to reply, send out a search party.  
  
Or just send in another article to the Daily Prophet. Yeah, we know you guys had something to do with that. Tell Chelsea congrats on her first big time publication.  
  
Don't get kidnapped again.  
  
\- Elliott_  
  
Virgil let out a snort at the last line. It was just the sort of humor that he'd come to expect from Elliott, and despite how blunt that comment came across, Virgil appreciated it nevertheless.  
  
Another meeting with Elliott, Shane, and Paige would be nice, and Elliott was correct - Virgil did not particularly  _want_  to go back to Hogsmeade any time soon, despite the fact that nothing particularly traumatic happen to him or Astrit in Hogsmeade. All of that happened  _after_  Hogsmeade - but Hogsmeade was still the start of everything that happened. Even before Elliott realized the effects visiting Hogsmeade might have on Virgil and Astrit in the letter, Virgil caught himself making a face at the word Hogsmeade.  
  
As if the word itself were cursed.  
  
Virgil decided that he would check with the others before responding back to Elliott. Besides, it would give him some time to figure out what he wanted to say back to Elliott. He realized with a jolt that, unless someone else was communicating with Elliott back at Hogwarts, they might not know about Virgil's curse, as that happened shortly before Astrit's release from St. Mungo's.  
  
In addition, Virgil had more on his mind than just replying to his friends back at Hogwarts.  
  
Virgil couldn't seem to shake off the odd feeling that something was brewing. He was even more on edge than he usually was, and this was most evident a few days after the article's publication in the Daily Prophet.  
  
He went through the morning feeling even more shaky than usual, and wondered if he was getting sick. He kept asking Logan to feel his forehead to make certain that he was not developing a temperature - when he wasn't feeling at his own forehead, that was.  
  
Renilda was out of the house, working at her job at St. Mungo's, but once she arrived back home, she had a theory of her own to share with the two teenagers.  
  
 _"Don't you usually feel peculiar before you give a prophecy?"_  
  
Virgil's eyes went wide as they could at that point. It had been  _months_  since he'd given his last prophecy, since he was at Thompson Manor - and he still did not know what that prophecy said.  
  
 _"I should fetch a pen and paper of my own so that I can record the prophecy, should your mother's theory be correct,"_  Logan observed.  
  
Virgil arched an eyebrow at that.  _So you can write down the gibberish that inevitably comes out? Unless the prophecy is written its not going to make any sense._  
  
 _"I suppose this is our opportunity to put that to the test,"_  Logan murmured.  
  
Virgil's eyebrow quirked upward and he folded his arms across his chest.   
  
 _"Put what to the test?"_  Renilda asked, helpfully asking the exact question going through Virgil's mind. If Logan could not properly deduce what Virgil was trying to say, at least he would answer Renilda.  
  
 _"Whether or not your prophecies are impacted by the curse,"_ Logan replied, looking at both Virgil and Renilda as he said this - indicating that he correctly interpreted Virgil's expression.  
  
Virgil reached into his pocket and pulled out his pad, quickly writing down another question that would not be so easy to convey with mere expressions.  _What are we going to do if they are? We won't be able to make sense of the prophecy, and what if it's something big?_  
  
 _"We will attempt to-"_  It was growing harder and harder for Virgil to focus on what Logan was saying.  
  
"What?" Virgil replied with a frown.  
  
Logan looked at him with a confused expression and opened his mouth to respond, but Virgil felt as if Logan was speaking in slow motion. In fact, he felt like  _everything_  was in slow motion - Logan's movements, his mother's movements, his  _own_  moments...even the breaths that he was taking. He swayed a little where he stood, vaguely aware of Logan guiding him into a seat Renilda placed behind him. Then everything went black...


	37. Chapter 37

_"Is he usually out for this long after prophecies? Should we call someone?"_  
  
Virgil began to stir at the sound of his mother's voice.

 _"This is a little more prolonged than usual, though nothing too worrisome. Look, I believe he's waking up now."_  That was Logan's voice.  
  
 _"I've only seen him give prophecies twice...I don't think I'll ever get used to it,"_  Renilda admitted in a shaky voice.  
  
"S-Sorry..." Virgil stammered out in response.  
  
He felt someone squeeze his hand as he slowly opened his eyes. His mother had his hand in hers. Logan was on the other side of him, eying him closely as if to ascertain that he was alright.  
  
He was slumped to the side in the chair that Renilda pulled up for him just before he blacked out. He felt overwhelmingly better than before his blackout, though he still felt a tad disoriented. This was much preferable to his last prophecy, however. Renilda and Logan surrounded him, much like Linus and the Princes surrounded him last time, but they looked at him with expressions of concern and  _love_.

He reoriented himself in the chair. Logan reached out as if to steady him before pulling his arms back when he saw that Virgil was managing alright on his own.  
  
"What did I say?" Virgil muttered, still trying to reacquaint himself with what was happening around him.  
  
Logan handed him his pen and notebook.  _"You dropped these just before you went into the trance."_  
  
Oh right, the curse.  
  
 _Did the prophecy come out as gibberish?_  Virgil wrote. He felt as if he had to precede all of his other questions with that one. He couldn't very well ask what he'd said if it came out completely unintelligible to Logan and Renilda, could he?  
  
He couldn't even bring himself to look at the other two, too afraid of the answers their faces would reveal before their words could.  
  
 _"No, actually,"_  Logan revealed. Virgil's gaze shifted upward in surprise. He studied Logan's face, looking for any signs that his boyfriend was messing with him.  
  
 _"The prophecy came out in plain English,"_  Renilda agreed.  _"Or, well...we could understand the words, at least."_  
  
Virgil let out a snort, knowing from his own experience listening to Era that actually  _making sense_  of what a prophecy was predicting was a lot harder than making out the words of the prophecy.  
  
The words of the prophecy came out in English? His heart leaped. Had falling into the trance broken the curse? "Can you guys understand what I'm saying now?" he asked, trying (and failing) to keep his eagerness from seeping into his tone.  
  
One look at Logan's and Renilda's puzzled expressions was all he needed to send that theory crashing back to the ground. "Nevermind," he muttered under his breath. They wouldn't understand it, of course, but it still made him feel better to actually say it out loud.  
  
 _Why's you have to go and get your hopes up? You should have known better,_  Virgil thought to himself, furrowing his brow and hunching in slightly on himself.  
  
He could speak in English when he fell into trances, when he gave prophecies, but he couldn't manage it for a day to day conversation. Figured.  
  
 _"Could you try repeating that through writing, perhaps? I'm afraid we could not understand you,"_  Logan replied.  
  
Virgil let out a derisive snort at that and waved his hand.  
  
 _"Virgil, I know you are frustrated, but we would really like to hear your end of the conversation, if you're willing to share,"_  Logan assured him.  
  
 _I asked what you said, then asked if you could understand me. Then I said nevermind when it was clear you couldn't. Happy now?_  Virgil hastily scribbled before turning the notebook toward Renilda and Logan with a grunt.

 _"...oh,"_  Logan said after several seconds passed.  
  
 _"Virgil, honey..."_  Renilda said with a frown.  
  
He turned his notebook back around, torn between snapping at the two once more and feeling guilty for being snippy in the first place. It wasn't their fault he was in this predicament after all.

The latter realization allowed Virgil to reel in his frustration. He sighed and jotted out his next reply.  _What did I say?_  
  
Logan and Renilda exchanged glances. Virgil felt a clenching sensation in his chest at the sight. While he  _knew_  Logan and Renilda would not keep the contents of his prophecy from him, it was an unfortunate reminder of that exact thing happening when he gave a prophecy while still trapped wtihin Linus' enchantments.  
  
 _"The stakes are rising,"_  Logan began.  _"Sides will be chosen. Those who are lost may seek guidance from unlikely sources. Alas, it may be too late to save them, for they may only save themselves."_  
  
 _"Those who are lost? Who could that mean?"_  Renilda frowned.  
  
 _"It could mean just about anything at this one, as we lack integral information to decipher it,"_  Logan remarked.  
  
 _So it's still not much better than gibberish,_  Virgil wrote with a wry smile and an attempt to inject dark humor into what was already a precarious situation.  
  
 _"It's far better than gibberish,"_  Logan countered.  _"It's simply a riddle or a puzzle that we need to solve, rather than what may be an entirely different language at best and...well, gibberish at worst."_  
  
 _I was joking, Lo,_  Virgil wrote in reply.  
  
Though Logan may have missed Virgil's attempt at sarcastic humor, his response nevertheless improved Virgil's overall mood. His prophesying was still intelligible to others. That meant that there was  _some_  part of him unaffected by the curse. If they could work out what that was, they might be able to counteract the curse and bring Virgil's speech back to its prior state.   
  
Virgil swore he saw Logan casting a glance in his direction with a small smile on his face, and Virgil suddenly found himself questioning Logan's motives behind that brief tangent. Perhaps Logan hadn't missed the point after all...  
  
Either way, they had a prophecy that they needed to attempt to decipher. It was time to call in the others.


	38. Chapter 38

The group - outside of those who were still at Hogwarts, of course - gathered in the spare bedroom of Renilda's flat. It was a little cramped with all seven of them in the room (Renilda and Professor Picani were tending to something elsewhere in the house), but they made do.  
  
 _"Who votes that we make this our official new location for meetings?"_  Roman called out, followed by a raise of his hand.  
  
Patton soon followed suit, as did Chelsea.  
  
 _It's my mum's house,_  Virgil reminded them in writing.

 _"So? It's still a great spot for meetings!"_  Roman retorted.  
  
 _"Except that Elliott, Paige, and Shane are not here,"_  Logan pointed out.  
  
 _They might come next Hogsmeade weekend,_  Virgil notified the others.  
  
Everyone looked happy at the news, but none more so than Era. Paige was one of her best friends even prior to their fifth year, so it made sense that Era would miss Paige considerably and would be delighted to hear that she, Elliott, and Shane were planning another visit to Diagon Alley sooner or later.

Logan cleared his throat.  _"As we told the five of you via owl, Virgil recently made a prophecy."_  
  
Roman arched an eyebrow.  _"That's lovely, but what good is a prophecy going to do if we can't understand what it's saying? Unless Virgil wrote it down..."_  
  
 _"I wrote it down, actually,"_  Logan informed him.  
  
 _"...how?"_  Chelsea blinked in surprise. The others looked similarly shocked.  
  
 _"Simple - Virgil said the prophecy, I recorded it,"_  Logan replied.  
  
 _"How were you able to do that though if you couldn't tell what Virgil was saying?"_  Patton wondered.  
  
Era folded her arms across her chest, looking thoughtful.  _"I have a sneaking suspicion that Logan wouldn't call us here to try to interpret a completely unintelligible prophecy. Virgil, you gave the prophecy in English, didn't you?"_  
  
Virgil was slightly surprised when Era addressed  _him_  and jolted a little in his seat, but he quickly recovered and nodded.  
  
 _"...the curse only impacts your regular speech?"_  Astrit deduced.  
  
 _Sure looks that way,_  Virgil wrote in reply.  
  
 _"So what did the prophecy say?"_  Chelsea asked.  
  
 _"Ahem..."_  Logan began, and everyone turned to look at him.  _"The stakes are rising. Sides will be chosen. Those who are lost may seek guidance from unlikely sources. Alas, it may be too late to save them, for they may only save themselves."_  
  
A heavy silence permeated the room, and Virgil shrunk in on himself.  
  
 _"Well the first line is just stating the obvious!"_  Roman, unsurprisingly, was the first to comment afterward.  
  
 _"Yeah...after everything that's happened, of course the stakes would be high,"_  Era agreed.   
  
 _"What did it mean by those who are lost, though? Should we help them?"_  Patton seemed particularly concerned about that part of the prophecy.  
  
 _"Depends on what the prophecy means by lost,"_  Chelsea replied.  _"It could mean that they don't know where they are, and are searching for a certain destination, or it could mean that they do not know what is happening, or..."_  
  
 _"It could also mean that they are deceased,"_  Logan pointed out.  
  
 _"...you think a bunch of ghosts are gonna come asking for help?"_  Roman eyed Logan skeptically.  
  
 _"That is not what I inferred at all. I was merely providing another definition for the word 'lost',"_ Logan retorted.  
  
 _"What good is that going to do us?"_  Chelsea protested.  _"We're trying to figure out what this prophecy means!"_  
  
 _"Which means that we need to consider all possible meanings, does it not?"_  Logan replied coolly.  
  
 _"Huh, you've got a point "_  Chelsea admitted, eyebrows suddenly furrowing in concentration.

 _"The prophecy also said that it might be too late to save those who are lost,"_  Astrit pointed out.  
  
 _"Then what's the point of us hearing the prophecy, if we can't do anything about it?"_  Roman grumbled.  
  
 _Sorry my uncontrollable trance disappointed you,_  Virgil retorted via pad, tapping his pen against the paper.  
  
 _"Pretty sure that's not how prophecies work,"_  Era remarked.  
  
 _"Now that we know about the lost people we can try to help them! I'd say that makes it all worth it!"_  Patton insisted.  
  
 _"We don't even know who these people are, let alone if we can help them - or if they're even in danger,"_  Chelsea observed.  
  
 _"The prophecy could even refer to one or more of us,"_  Logan reasoned.

The entire group fell silent at that.  
  
 _"But Logan, none of us are lost. We're all right here,"_  Patton protested.  
  
 _"I don't mean physically lost,"_  Logan replied.  
  
Somehow those words were even more unnerving than the last.  
  
 _"I hope that doesn't mean that one or more of us will wind up kidnapped again,"_  Astrit considered out loud, bringing chills to Virgil's spine.  
  
It  _could_  mean that, couldn't it?  
  
It was starting to seem as if any idea they could come up with was more disconcerting than the last. The prophecy hung over them like a dark cloud, and Virgil could not help but feel responsible for the sudden shift in mood, even if it  _was_  something entirely out of his control.

At the same time, though, perhaps they were in  _need_  of this reminder. It might have been a relatively quiet period, aside from the curse on Virgil and Deceit and Phillip escaping from Azkaban, but there was still a great danger out there, and it would not do them well to forget it in light of the brief respite they were experiencing.

By the time Patton, Roman, Era, Astrit, and Chelsea bid Virgil and Logan farewell for the night, they hadn't gotten much farther - but they did have a few things to think about.  
  
Virgil had it twofold. Not only did he want to decipher his latest prophecy, but he wished he  _knew_ what he said during his last prophecy. It was something that the Council seemed overjoyed about.  
  
At best, the Council was merely excited to have a Seer on their side. At worst? Virgil's prophecy might have aided the Council toward something successful, possibly even Dalibor's rebirth, and that was a thought more daunting than anything else.  
  
At least this prophecy was in  _their_  hands, not the Council's.


	39. Chapter 39

Virgil didn't have to write his reply to Elliott after all.  
  
Another owl came from Shane - This one announcing that Hogsmeade weekend would be the following weekend, and Paige, Elliott, and Shane could come to visit!  
  
The group decided to meet up at Renilda's flat. The Leaky Cauldron was briefly considered, but there was too much to catch Elliott, Shane, and Paige up on that they would not want to discuss in a public area. Logan declined to state this as the reason for their change of venue in the letter, however, preferring to simply say that Renilda wanted to meet Elliott, Shane, and Paige.  
  
It wasn't a lie - Renilda  _did_  want to meet the three - but she would be out of the house for the first part of their visit.   
  
Virgil, Logan, Roman, Patton, Chelsea, Era, and Astrit were already at Renilda's flat, engrossed in various activities. Chelsea, Astrit, and Era were playing a card game, Logan was reading, Virgil was practicing his nonverbal magic, and Roman was doing his best Disney character impressions for Patton, who excitedly encouraged Roman to continue.  
  
There was a knock on the door and Virgil rose to his feet. He glanced through the peephole to be certain, then pulled the door open when he saw Elliott, Shane, and Paige standing in wait outside. Virgil stepped aside as the three came through the door one by one.  
  
 _"Paige!"_  Era called out, cards in one hand as she waved Paige over with the other hand. Paige grinned, making her way over to her best friend, her best friend's girlfriend, and her best friend's younger brother at once.  
  
Shane clapped Virgil on the back, causing Virgil to jump, while Elliott shot him a smirk.  _"Good to see you again."_  
  
Virgil reached into his pocket and pulled out his pad.  _Good to see you too,_  he replied.  
  
By that point the others were coming over. Roman congratulated Elliott on their makeup and asked for a few pointers. Shane's stomach rumbled loudly and Logan offered him a snack. All in all, Elliott, Shane, and Paige quickly settled in among the group, catching up on various matters - both the mundane and the serious.  
  
 _"So when are we going to meet the mysterious Mitchell you were telling us about so much before Christmas?"_  Roman teased Elliott.   
  
Elliott frowned.  _"We're, uh, not together anymore."_  
  
 _"Oh, I'm so sorry Elliott..."_  Patton reached out to squeeze them on the shoulder.  
  
Elliott shrugged.  _"It was for the best. He kept getting jealous of my friendship with Shane and I'm not here for that."_  
  
 _"Awww, you never told me that! Thanks!"_  Shane held out his hand for Elliott to give him a high five, a high five that Elliott promptly returned.  
  
 _"What about the two of you?"_  Patton turned to Shane and Paige curiously.  _"Do you have your eye on anyone?"_  
  
 _"Well there are a couple of guys in Charms and Potions, and this one girl in History of Magic..."_ Paige grinned.   
  
Patton turned to Shane, who looked oddly uncomfortable.  _"What's the matter? No one catch your eye?"_  
  
 _"Don't be discouraged, you'll find someone!"_  Roman assured him.  
  
Shane muttered something. Roman furrowed his brow in confusion.  _"What did you say?"_  
  
 _He said 'what if I don't want to?',_  Virgil wrote and showed Roman. He'd apparently been the only one to understand what Shane was saying, and Shane clammed up at that.  
  
 _"Oh, well...that's okay too,"_  Roman replied, still looking a tad puzzled but not pushing any further.  
  
 _"Aro?"_  Astrit piped up suddenly, staring closely at Shane.  
  
 _"Arrow? What about arrows?"_  Shane blinked in confusion.  
  
 _"Aromantic,"_  Astrit explained.  _"It means someone who experiences little to no romantic attraction."_  
  
Shane's eyes went wide.  _"Wait, there's a name for that? There's other people who...yes, that!"_  The corners of his mouth curved upward as if someone whispered into his ear the meaning of life.

It was as if Shane's entire mood went through a shift, and something about him seemed more at ease. Virgil had the sneaking suspicion that this was something that had been bothering Shane for a while, and he felt guilty for not recognizing it sooner.  
  
Soon, the conversation shifted toward Virgil's most recently prophecy. There were more theories swapped, but it was largely a repeat of the conversation the day before, with a few theories even being repeats of the ones they'd already considered.  
  
 _"I just don't know what to think. It's a lot of information, but it's all so vague that it's hard to pinpoint what exactly it's saying,"_  Paige observed.  
  
 _"Isn't that usually how they go?"_  Elliott replied.  
  
 _"There's definitely a threat on the horizon, we can't ignore that,"_  Shane muttered.  _"But what is all of this about lost people and people being saved? I feel like that raises the stakes even more!"_  
  
 _"It's too bad we can't ask for clarification,"_  Roman said with a snort.  _"That would make things a whole lot easier for us than these riddles and puzzles we always get to solve."_  
  
 _I'll get right on that for you,_  Virgil wrote with a wry smile and held up the pad so that everyone could read.  
  
It was hard for him to contribute to the conversation with so many people, and that was frustrating - especially when it came to Elliott, Shane, and Paige. He hadn't seen the three of them since Astrit was in St. Mungo's, and Virgil would love to catch up with them, but it was hard to keep up with the conversation when it took him longer to write out what he needed to say - especially if it was a particularly lengthy comment - than it did for the others to just  _verbally_ communicate their points.  
  
Elliott glanced in his direction with a frown on their face.  _"You okay?"_  they mouthed.   
  
Virgil replied with a shrug. Was he okay? Not really. But it wasn't as if he was doing terribly either.   
  
 _"We'll talk later,"_  they mouthed in return. Virgil nodded, indicating his acceptance of that proposal.  
  
But that would have to wait, as there was another knock on the door before anything else could be said.


	40. Chapter 40

Virgil made his way over to the door - As Renilda's son, it made sense that none of the others would venture to answer the door, save for perhaps Logan. Virgil peeked through the peephole once again just to make certain that Renilda stood on the other side of the door, then pulled the door open.  
  
Renilda smiled as walked through the door and eagerly looked around.  _"Are they still here?"_  
  
 _"Hey Ms. Nyx,"_  Shane called out.  
  
Renilda snickered.  _"Guess that answers my question. I'll get some tea and hot chocolate on!"_  
  
Virgil furrowed his brow, glancing in the direction of the room where his friends sat in wait, then went to the cupboard and began to pull out cups, saucers, and spoons.   
  
Renilda beamed.  _"My little helper."_  
  
Virgil retrieved his pad from his pocket and hurriedly jotted out a retort.  _6'0" is little?_  he showed his mother with a half grin on his face.  
  
Renilda rolled her eyes.  _"Oh hush. You'll always be little to me,"_ she smirked and tapped the point of his nose with her index finger.   
  
At least she was only  _two_  inches shorter than he was?  
  
Renilda quickly threw together a few snacks for the group as well, and Virgil and his mother carried items into the living room where the others were waiting.

 _"Oooh, hot chocolate!"_  Patton beamed when he saw what they were carrying.  
  
 _"And tea,"_  Logan added.   
  
The snacks were set on a side table for everyone to grab, along with a pile of plates, while the drinks were handed out by Virgil and Renilda. Virgil, Patton, Chelsea, Roman, and Shane went with hot chocolate. Logan, Era, Astrit, Elliott, and Renilda went with tea.  
  
 _"The elusive Ms. Nyx. We meet at last,"_  Elliott greeted Virgil's mother with a smile.   
  
Had Virgil been able to talk, he would have found it much easier to introduce his three friends. That said, he  _did_  think of a way around it, as goofy as said way was. He quickly wrote something out in three separate sheets of paper in his pad, then ripped out the sheets, handing one each to Paige, Elliott, and Shane.  
  
 _"Really?"_  Paige said with a snort as she read what was on the sheet.  
  
Virgil mimed holding something up to his chest, an amused smile on his face.  
  
 _"Eh, why not?"_  Elliott shrugged and held up the paper in their hand that fittingly read 'Elliott'.  
  
Paige and Shane soon followed, each holding up their own paper with their own names on it.  
  
Renilda laughed.  _"I suppose that's one way to introduce me to your friends."_  
  
Virgil shrugged. He couldn't do it  _verbally_ , and it would take a lot more time to have to write out each introduction one by one, so why not do it this way?  
  
The 'party', if one could call it that, soon got back underway.  
  
Virgil accompanied his mother back to the kitchen. Renilda hummed as she set to work on refilling Roman and Patton's hot chocolates.  
  
 _You're happy,_  Virgil noted.  
  
 _"Why wouldn't I be? I get to meet your friends!"_  Renilda replied.  
  
 _You've met most of them before,_  Virgil pointed out.  
  
Renilda let out a sigh.  _"I miss doing this,"_  she admitted.  
  
 _Doing what?_  Virgil wrote, confusion evident in every corner of his face.  
  
 _"Doing things with people,"_  Renilda replied.  
  
That only served to puzzle Virgil that much further.  
  
Renilda let out a sigh.  _"It's been awfully lonely these past couple of years."_  
  
 _Is that why you and Professor Picani-_  Virgil began to write, but he paused when he realized Renilda had more to say.  
  
 _"That's certainly part of it, but it's not everything. I...I don't want to talk ill of your childhood, but..."_  Renilda trailed off, clearly unsure of what to say next.  
  
 _Go ahead. I do it all the time,_  Virgil held up his response on the pad with one corner of his lip curved upward into a half-smile.  
  
Renilda shook her head.  _"As you know, I grew up in a large family. Five children in all, including myself. It wasn't the greatest family, as you also well know. As far as I know, they never involved themselves with this so-called 'Council', but they were the type of family that would have fit into their ranks perfectly."_  
  
 _Pureblood supremacy,_  Virgil wrote in reply.  
  
Renilda nodded.  _"They disowned your Uncle Rembrandt, and likely would have disowned me were it not for Linus. I know it may seem hard to believe, but Linus didn't used to be so terrible."_  
  
Virgil arched an eyebrow as high as it could go.  _You're right, I don't believe it._  
  
 _"I don't either,"_  Renilda admitted with a derisive snort.  _"He was good at courting, though, and he was handsome, and...well...it was easier to marry him than it was to bear the thought of being disowned. It honestly felt like the lesser of two evils at the time. It didn't help that I was told by everyone...my family, Linus...that Rembrandt lost everything when he was disowned. He was true to his own heart, but what was it worth when his entire life fell apart afterward? He cut himself off from the only people who cared about him, the only people who accepted him...why would I want a fate like that?"_  
  
It was impossible for Virgil to ignore the parallels. All of those years he'd spent with Deceit and his so-called 'friends' in Slytherin because he wouldn't be accepted anywhere else, because Deceit's gang was the only way he stood a chance at Hogwarts. Statements so wickedly wrong in hindsight, but how could Virgil have possibly known that when he wasn't allowed the chance to discover that for himself for the longest time?  
  
 _"As you and Lionel grew older, I didn't want to tear our family apart, even though Linus' actions began to bother me worse and worse. It reached a head in your fifth year. Linus could deny it until he was blue in the face, but I knew him too well to think that he had nothing to do with what was happening to those poor students at Hogwarts,"_  the anger was evident in Renilda's tone, though Virgil found that he could not discern where the anger was directed - at Linus, or at Renilda herself?  
  
 _"I wanted to maintain contact with my family, but I rarely saw Rembrandt. You met Remy a handful of times, and the interactions between Linus and Rembrandt were always stilted, bordering on hostile. Linus didn't even want me talking to your Aunt Helena, because her blood was impure. And despite the fact that I married Linus with the intent of staying in contact with my family, we rarely saw the Nyxes either. I quit working so that I could care for you and Lionel, so I lost contact with most of my work friends."_  Virgil's eyes widened in recognition.  
  
His mother was isolated for the longest time, and his friends, and Professor Picani, and her renewed contact with Uncle Rembrandt, Aunt Helena, and even Remy...it was her reaching out again.  
  
No wonder she was so happy.  
  
And seeing his mother that way made him happy too.  
  
 _"Do you think they may have gotten lost in the kitchen? It's taking them an awful long time..."_  Virgil heard Roman say from the next room over.  
  
Virgil and Renilda exchanged glances. Rather than be upset, though, they both began to laugh as they set back to work getting the refills of hot chocolate ready.


	41. Chapter 41

Virgil took a seat next to Logan after he and his mother returned with the refills. Shortly thereafter, there was another knock at the door. This time, Virgil let out an exasperated sigh as he rose once again to his feet before Renilda rushed past and made her way to the door.  
  
Oh, right.  _He_  might not be expecting anyone else, but Renilda might. Virgil watched from his seat, leaning back slightly so that he could get a clearer view of the door in the next room. Sure enough, Professor Picani stood at the door.  
  
He wasn't the only one to catch this either.  
  
 _"Professor Picani?"_  Elliott stared with wide eyes.  
  
 _"Whoa, what's he doing here?"_  Shane chimed in.  
  
 _"Hello! Do you how do?"_  he beamed, giving them his standard greeting.

Virgil couldn't help but snicker at this. He forgot that Elliott, Shane, and Paige did not know about his mother and Professor Picani.  
  
 _"Go ahead and have a seat Emile, I'll be back in shortly,"_  Renilda called out to him.  
  
 _"Emile?"_  Elliott stared, looking away at once when he saw Professor Picani glancing back at him.  
  
 _"Professor Picani's dating Virgil's mother,"_  Patton 'whispered' in a voice that sounded only slightly lower than his regular voice.  
  
 _"How did that happen?"_  Paige blinked in surprise.  
  
 _"Renilda asked me if I wanted to accompany her for a butterbeer at The Three Broomsticks in Hogsmeade and I accepted,"_ Professor Picani responded.  _"Or was that a rhetorical question that I was not supposed to answer literally?"_  
  
The mischievous grin on Professoe Picani's face as he asked this suggested that he knew  _full well_  that it was a rhetorical question.

 _"But how do you even know Virgil's mother for her to have asked that in the first place?"_  Shane asked.  
  
 _"We were friends in our Hogwarts days. More specifically, I was close friends with Rembrandt Nyx, who was in my year, and befriended Renilda through him,"_  Professor Picani explained.  
  
 _"So Virgil's...uncle?"_  Paige worked out.  
  
 _"That's the guy! Do you know him?"_  Professor Picani asked eagerly.  
  
Paige blinked in surprise and shook her head.  _"No, I just figured, given the circumstances..."_  
  
Professor Picani waved his hand.  _"Ah, it's no big deal. I'm sure you'll meet up at some point, especially if you hang around here!"_  
  
 _"We're only just now meeting Ren...er, Ms. Nyx,"_  Elliott clarified.  
  
 _"Ren? It's been ages since someone called me that. Maybe I should go back to it,"_  Renilda noted as she strode into the room behind Professor Picani.

 _"Then you could call me Stimpy!"_  Professor Picani grinned.  
  
Patton snickered. Logan made a face. Paige let out a snort. Everyone else looked back in confusion.  
  
 _"Ren and Stimpy? The 90s cartoon?"_  Professor Picani attempted to clarify.  
  
 _"Oooh, another cartoon to check out!"_  Roman grinned.  
  
 _"I'm not so certain that you would enjoy this one, Roman,"_  Logan replied.  
  
 _"Just because you consider yourself to be too good for cartoons doesn't mean the rest of us can't enjoy them,"_  Roman huffed.  
  
 _"There are cartoons that I enjoy,"_  Logan protested.  
  
 _"Logan's not wrong about this one, Ro,"_  Patton chimed in.  
  
 _"The cartoon that Professor Picani is alluding to is particularly noted for its use of grotesque imagery for shock value. In addition, the character of Ren makes Linus Thompson look like a well-adjusted individual,"_  Logan clarified.  
  
Virgil felt an involuntary shudder course through him at that.  
  
Professor Picani's eyes widened.  _"I should probably clarify that I don't...I didn't mean to imply..."_  
  
Renilda laughed.  _"Duh. I know you're not saying that I'm like some creepy cartoon character. It was a joke based on an old nickname. Don't worry about it!"_  
  
Professor Picani let out a very visible sigh of relief, which only caused Renilda to laugh even more.  
  
As amusing as all of this was, it was all getting to be a little  _much_ , especially in light of the reference to Linus. Virgil planned to take a few minutes away from the crowd to compose himself before rejoining the rest of the 'party'. Turned out he wasn't the only one with the idea, however.

 _"Hey,"_  Elliott's voice pulled Virgil from his reverie. When he glanced over, Elliott was standing against the wall, their hands in their pockets.  
  
Virgil nodded his head in reply, figuring that was a much quicker way of acknowledging Elliott's presence than to take the time to write out one word and have Elliott read it.  
  
 _"You needed to get away too?"_  Elliott asked. Virgil nodded once more.  _"You wanna maybe go for a quick walk? Could use some fresh air and I don't think it's a good idea to go out there alone right now."_  
  
Virgil could not deny that this sounded like a great idea, but he did quickly make certain that he was wearing the watch that Logan enchanted the year before. He already made the mistake of not doing so once, and he wanted to be able to act in the event that he and Elliott were attacked.

On their way to the door they came across Logan, who was headed in the opposite direction.   
  
Virgil motioned toward the door with his hand. Logan blinked in confusion. Virgil sighed and slipped his hand into his pocket to fetch his notebook.  
  
 _"We're going out to get some fresh air for a few minutes,"_  Elliott explained, thus saving Virgil the extra effort. He kept the pad in his hand, knowing he'd probably need it if Elliott wanted to talk during their walk, but at least Elliott accurately translated what Virgil wanted to say.  
  
Virgil and Elliott made their way outside.   
  
\-----------------------------------------------------  
  
Logan emerged from the bathroom a few minutes later, making his way back to the living room where the majority of the others were. Renilda, Professor Picani, Roman, Patton, Chelsea, Era, Astrit, Elliott, Shane, and Paige.  
  
Wait...  
  
 _"Back so soon?"_  Logan asked Elliott as he made his way back to his seat.  
  
Elliott stared back at him in confusion.  _"What?"_  
  
 _"You and Virgil went outside to get some fresh air for a few minutes. I didn't think I was in the bathroom for that long. Speaking of, where is Virgil?"_  Logan frowned.  
  
 _"I didn't go anywhere,"_  Elliott responded, looking at Logan as if he had two heads.  
  
 _"Of course you did, I just saw you with Virgil!"_  Logan protested.  
  
 _"They're not lying, Logan, they've been sitting next to me this entire time,"_  Shane vouched for Elliott.  
  
 _"But I saw you with Vi-oh no. Oh Merlin no,"_  Logan's eyes blew wide in a combination of comprehension and horror.  
  
\---------------------------------------------  
  
Virgil clutched his pad tightly. He liked the fresh air, but he wasn't so sure that he liked the awkward silence.   
  
So when Elliott suggested they stop for a moment down the road so that they could communicate, Virgil was entirely game.  
  
 _"So...it's really weird not having you at Hogwarts. It's even weirder knowing that you have to use that thing to talk,"_  Elliott said, pointing to the pad in Virgil's hand.  
  
Virgil shrugged.  _Least I can still communicate._  
  
 _"Yeah, I suppose. Means I won't have to carry on a one-man conversation all by myself at least,"_  they said with a chuckle.  
  
Virgil frowned.  
  
 _A one man conversation?_  Virgil wrote and showed to Elliott.  
  
 _"Yeah, duh. If you couldn't communicate with me I'd be stuck running the conversation by myself, and that wouldn't be much fun would it?"_  Elliott retorted.

Virgil's defenses were immediately piqued.  _Not Elliot, Not Elliot, Not Elliot!_  his brain practically screamed at him.  
  
Fight or flight...the better option in this case was flight, but how could he could get away without it turning into a fight?   
  
Of  _course_ , the watch! Virgil went to reach for the watch with his opposite hand.  
  
 _"Petrificus Totalus!"'_    
  
The spell struck him before his hand could make contact with the watch.  
  
NotElliott was now standing directly next to him, their wand pointed downward at him.  _"I always did find it absurdly easy to read you. Stupefy!"_  
  
Virgil's last thoughts before darkness claimed him were  _not again, dammit_.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So...this is going to be the end of this portion of the story. I plan to post the start the next installment tomorrow; I already have it partially written. As always, thank you for sticking with me!


End file.
